by Brenda Trim
Bringing his attention back to the matter at hand, he noticed that the music had stopped and the club goers were gawking at their group. He caught the tail end of the question Jace posed to Pema. “…would do this to you? What enemies do you have? It couldn’t have been a Fae or one of Kadir’s allies. Killian said none of the alarms were triggered.”
“Everything is fine here. Let’s get back to the fun, this is supposed to be a party,” Killian announced and motioned to the DJ. The club-goers were slow to return to their activities, but once music blared through the speakers, they gradually edged away from the table.
Pema’s hoarse voice had him itching to take her into his arms. “I don’t have that many enemies. Not that it matters how many enemies I have…Claire and Cele did this. There is no doubt in my mind.” Ronan had seen the look on Claire’s face and agreed with Pema, Claire was responsible.
“I’m going to relish causing that bitch pain and agony before I rip her head from her shoulders,” Isis snarled, causing the overhead lights to flicker. Magic, Ronan recognized with discomfort, recalling how Killian had choked him without even touching him. Claire had never performed real magic in his mind, and here they were displaying their power every time he turned around.
He recalled Killian’s earlier warning regarding the danger Cele posed, and suddenly felt an overwhelming need to protect Pema. He made a mental note to ask Killian about ways to protect against spells. Surely, the sorcerer had some helpful information.
“No one is doing any killing,” Rhys responded as he grabbed Isis’ hand. “At least not right now. Come on, you can help me look for evidence to present to the elders.”
“I want to nail her to the wall. I’ll be back, Pema,” Isis bent over and kissed Pema’s forehead before turning to the Dark Warrior. “Rhys, grab the glass she drank out of,” Isis ordered.
Seeing the severity of the situation more fully, Ronan reconsidered. Perhaps Claire hadn’t done it. If she did, then she was in a world of trouble. Isis and Rhys clearly had Pema’s back and would find any evidence necessary to prove Claire’s guilt, and in their world, the trials were brief, and punishment for this crime was death. He felt like he should be defending the female he’d spent his life with and had loved for so long, but he knew deep-down in his gut she was guilty and he would never excuse what she had done.
He had been torn in a million different directions in the span of minutes. He’d never put any credence in the idea that fate had a hand in decisions, but he couldn’t help questioning it. There were many fables in the realm about the Goddess and her power that he’d never considered. As he gazed down into beautiful sea-green eyes, he couldn’t deny that he was meant to be in this city, with this enchanting witch.
Jace straightened, speaking to Pema, “You will likely be dizzy and nauseous for a bit yet. You need to go home and lie down.”
“I’ll take her to the bed in back,” Ronan rushed to offer, “and make sure she gets some rest while they finish their investigation,” ignoring the hundred different fantasies playing through his mind that involved anything but rest.
Ronan scooped Pema into his arms before anyone could object. Pressing her warm body against his, he inhaled her sweet strawberry scent…Goddess, it was addicting. Her curves fit perfectly against him, making lust course through him and harden his shaft.
He began heading to the rooms in back when Jace’s voice had him turning back. “Make sure she drinks some more water, as well. I nullified the poison, but she needs to flush it from her system.”
“Will do. And, thanks for saving her,” Ronan replied and turned away after Jace nodded his acknowledgment.
“Where are you taking me?” Pema asked, looking up at him with huge doe-eyes. There was a storm brewing in her sea-green depths, and it electrified him.
“There is a room with a bed in back. I had thought Killian crazy for including it, but right now I’m glad he did.” He gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I’m not sure being in a room alone with you and a bed is a good idea,” Pema whispered with a small curve to her lips.
Ronan leaned his face down to hers until their lips were scant inches apart as he paused outside the door. “Afraid you won’t be able to keep your hands off of me?” he asked as he twisted the knob and pushed the door open. He pressed his lips against hers lightly then crossed the threshold and kicked the door closed.
“It’s not my hands I’m worried about,” she countered and stretched her neck, seeking his lips once again. When their lips met with more force this time, he had to remind himself to be gentle, that she had just been poisoned.
“Good, I want them all over me. And, I want my tongue over every inch of your luscious body,” he blurted before he could stop himself. She bit his lower lip and it took all of his considerable strength to pull back. “How are you feeling? Jace said you should rest and I need to get you some water.”
She placed her hand on his chest. “I don’t want to rest,” she murmured, claiming his lips once again.
“Are you up for this? Be sure, because there will be no stopping this time.” The words escaped him with a harsh growl.
She closed her eyes, a bevy of emotions playing across her features. After what seemed like an eternity she met his glowing gaze. “I feel fine and I want you. I want to have sex with you.”
He turned her in his hold and relished when she wrapped her legs around his waist. He roughly ground his erection against her core. He glanced down and saw she wasn’t wearing panties, so fucking sexy. “The best sex of your life.” He grinned and dropped her onto the bed. With quick movements, he had her clothing in a pile on the floor.
He stared for long moments at her pale, creamy skin. She was breathtaking. He ran his fingers up her legs, skimming over her wet, needy core, eliciting moans that had his cock jerking in anticipation. Her breasts beckoned and he stopped to give them the attention they deserved. He rolled pert nipples between his thumb and forefinger then bent and sucked one into his mouth.
It was the easiest thing in the world to get lost in this female. As he licked and teased the most exquisite breasts he had ever seen, his hand traveled down the flat planes of her abdomen. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that she’d just been poisoned and he needed to be gentle. When her muscles quivered beneath his palm, it drove his control out the window. She was as desperate for him as he was for her.
He lifted his head and saw she had thrown her head back on the pillow. He dipped one finger into her slit and caressed her moist, feminine flesh. “So hot and wet, and, it’s all for me,” he whispered, licking his lips that were craving a taste of her.
“Yes, for you…please…” she trailed off, thrashing her head back and forth and lifting her hips seeking more from his touch. Anxious to see her lost to his ministrations, he sank one, then two, fingers into her core while his thumb found her clit.
He returned his mouth to her breasts and licked and nipped her flesh. She gasped his name and began riding his hand fervently. When she was close to orgasm, he pulled back and stilled his movements.
“You’re killing me,” she complained. “Make me come or fuck me now,” she begged in an urgent tone.
“Not yet, I need your honey.” She had no idea how desperate he was to lick and suck her sweet juices. His cock had a mind all its own, needing her cream to coat every inch of its length as he pounded her into the mattress.
Later, he promised himself, right now he was anxious for her cream to flow down his throat. He lifted his head and spread her legs wide while he knelt on the bed and lifted her bottom in his hands. The firm globes filled his palms. He playfully bit her silky ass before he leaned back, staring at her. She was fucking perfect.
Before he knew what was happening, she had quickly sat up and ripped his shirt off his body, throwing it to the floor. Oh, he liked how aggressive his female was. Wait, his? He shook his head even as he laughed out loud, he wasn’t going there.
His mind may
still be reeling from what had happened with Claire, but he had been obsessed with Pema for the past twenty-four hours and he needed her. Pema had almost died. He clasped her to him, relishing her racing heart as a reminder that she was alive. He had no idea what he was going to do about Claire, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him from enjoying this moment with Pema. She was naked and beautiful and wanted him.
He slid his hands around her waist and laid his body over the top of hers. He groaned at the feel of his bare chest pressed against her front. Her legs fell open and she gave herself to him, trusting him with her body.
She ran her hands over his chest, gripping his pecs. “Mmmm, you feel so damn good. Your hair is silky-soft and making me crazy. Get inside me now!”
“No, love.” He went to his knees again and knew this was how she deserved to have her male…on his knees, worshipping her perfection.
Her arousal perfumed the air around them. Patience was lost on him and he squeezed her ass. His bear was clamoring to claim her ass and show her that she was his. Not the thought he wanted at that moment, and he shook it off. The pent up lust from being denied yesterday was messing with his head. Time to remedy that.
“Oh, Ronan,” she cried out.
He spread the flesh at the apex of her thighs and licked from her opening all the way to her nether hole where he teased her. She shuddered with pleasure. He knew then and there his bear wouldn’t have to wait long.
He remembered stocking the room and jumped up and grabbed the jar of honey he had placed among the other implements. His co-workers had laughed at him for putting honey with the ball-gags and lubricant, but he had told them that many species liked treats added to their sexual play. He was glad he had followed instinct and left the jar there.
He stalked back to the bed and met her half-lidded eyes. He flipped the cap then drizzled it between her succulent folds before he sat down and positioned his body between her legs. Her arousal combined with the honey glistened in the dim, overhead lighting. He ran his finger through her slit, teasing her pulsing clit before tracing back to her core.
He fingered her pussy then continued further to tease her anus. “Do you shave, baby?” He had never had a female who was bare, but he loved having nothing in the way of sampling her arousal. Her scent called to him and he licked one long path from her core to her throbbing clit. She tasted of strawberries and honey, and now, he was ravenous.
“Goddess,” she called out. “No, I don’t shave. Witchcraft,” she gasped. He loved how responsive she was to his touch. Her panting was music to his ears.
“You’re able to think too clearly for my liking. I’m going to correct that. Close your eyes. Give yourself over to me.” He felt like he had won the lottery when she obliged, spreading her legs further apart.
Like the wild animal he had deep inside, he devoured her moist, feminine folds. She cried out when he nipped and sucked her clit. She was mumbling incoherently from the onslaught of his tongue lashing her. He was unable to think of anything except bringing her pleasure then plunging deep inside her. She drove him mad and he loved it.
Pema was the most responsive female he had ever been with. Her skin was like lava beneath his fingertips where he gripped her buttocks. She writhed and shifted her hips in time to his ministrations. His cock was hard and begging to feel her tight, hot sheath, yet, it was surprisingly easy to ignore his own desire when he was pleasuring Pema.
He thrust his tongue into her channel and felt her muscles clamp down. She lifted her hips off the bed as she attempted to get more pressure and friction to her throbbing bundle of nerves.
More beast than man at the moment, Ronan replaced his tongue with two of his fingers and sucked her clit into his mouth. He flicked the nub with his tongue and increased suction while scissoring his fingers in and out of her body. She fisted the bedspread, her eyes snapped open and she detonated, coming in a rush. His name left her lips in a litany as the spasms racked her. He pulled his fingers free and stood up, tearing at the zipper of pants to free his shaft.
Pema attempted to help him, but he held her still with one hand. For an instant, his heart stopped. She had gone to her hands and knees. He managed to free himself and had his cock in hand, ready to thrust into the ass she had arched back to him and claim her fully. He barely held back the instinct. He had never before had the desire to claim Claire, or any female like that. For shifters, that was reserved for their Fated Mate. Could she be his?
Before he gave that question anymore consideration, Pema met his eyes over her shoulder, capturing his undivided attention. “Fuck me, Ronan. Forget the rest. Right now, I need your cock inside me.”
“Brace your hands on the wall, baby. I can’t hold back,” he ordered as he pulled his hips back then thrust into her pussy in one stroke. He stilled the moment he was seated fully inside her body, allowing her to adjust to his length. Her muscles rippled around his shaft deliciously as her pussy gripped him like a fist.
“Ah, Goddess, Pema. You feel so good. I hope you want it hard and fast.” He punctuated his words with a twist of his hips, making her cry out.
She was clearly lost to her passion, pushing back into his body, meeting him thrust for thrust. “Yes…hard, fast,” she panted.
That was all it took and his hips quickened as did his breathing and heart rate. She was pushing back into him, but with each of his thrusts, her body moved closer to the wall. A fine sheen of sweat broke out over his skin. He grabbed her hips and he held her still while her hands braced her upper body.
Her bouncing breasts were a tantalizing shadow on the wall. He glanced away and became mesmerized as his cock disappeared inside her hot little pussy. It was too much. He was going to cum, hard.
The familiar tingle in his spine indicated his orgasm was imminent. No, he wanted it to last longer. He tried to hold back, but her body tightened. She was close and he was unable to stop the inevitable.
He thrust into her like a piston and she cried out his name, her pussy strangling his cock as her climax hit. Dimly, he was aware that her cries had changed, and had become tinged with pain, but he was too overcome with a new and unfamiliar sensation that gripped his shaft. Pleasure and pressure built in the middle of his cock, causing it to swell and lock him inside her body as his orgasm hit and his seed shot into her core. His mind automatically recalled the fact that canine and ursine shifters formed a knot, locking them inside their Fated Mates during intercourse.
Pain seared his forearm, but his hips kept up a slow pace, his body wanting to wring every last ounce of pleasure from them both. He realized that it felt as if his arm had been burned and he glanced down to exam his arm, noticing that Pema was cradling her left arm. The pain intensified and his horrified gaze traveled from her huddled form to his left forearm, sure that he would find it singed to bone. It was hale and whole, but not the same at all.
He tried to pull from her body, but the swelling in his cock locked them together. He lifted his arm and stared down at a brand in the shape of a tribal bear paw, tipped by four crescent moons. The reality of what that meant hit him as his orgasm raged on. The mark and swelling were indicative of a phenomenon that only occurred with a shifter’s Fated Mate.
The lust and pleasure was relentless and unabated by the pain of the brand. His release was so intense that he shook all over from the force, and it sent her into another peak. She looked back at him, eyes wide with terror. He roared her name and lifted her close to his body. Her soul rustled in his chest and sent him into another climax. He remained rock hard and locked into her and it seemed the pleasure was going to kill them both. Their bodies may have been reveling in their joining, but mentally they were both freaking out.
As their orgasms waned, the gravity of the situation hit him fully. They were Fated Mates! This witch carried the other half of his soul. The Goddess had made her for him and him for her. This was the female that completed him.
“Holy fucking hell,” he muttered ineloquently, as he collapsed to the
bed bringing her with him. He was still erect and locked inside her. He rocked gently into her as she sat on his lap. His erection didn’t wane in the slightest, despite having had multiple releases. He never wanted to leave her body, he belonged there.
“Oh, Goddess. What happened?” Pema whispered. “I didn’t want a mate!”
CHAPTER EIGHT
“What were you thinking?” Cele snapped at her daughter. She was livid. She couldn’t think of a time that she’d been angrier. She was, in fact, stunned with disbelief that Claire had been so impetuous. It had been centuries since her daughter had so blatantly disobeyed her. She attempted to calm herself down, to no avail. Her anger was bubbling under the surface, ready to boil over.
Apparently, she hadn’t been clear enough when she told her daughter that she needed the triplets alive. Her entire plan depended on them willingly giving their combined power to her. How did Claire think she was going to obtain the power of three if one of them was dead? Without that power, those three trollops could overthrow Cele, and that was intolerable. Cele took deep breaths and sought a calm that continued to eluded her, especially given that her daughter stood entrenched in her justification.
“I was thinking, mother, that I will not allow a Rowan to have my male. You insisted that I end my relationship with him, and like a fool, I listened to you. I will do whatever it takes to correct that mistake!” Claire yelled.
“He is not worthy of you, daughter. Besides, he is not yours. No matter how many centuries you have slept with the beast, the Goddess didn’t make him for you. You don’t wear his mark,” Cele responded crisply, letting all her anger leak into her tone. Her daughter had nearly ruined all her carefully laid plans, and yet she stood there belligerent. It was obvious she had given Claire too much leeway in the past and this behavior wouldn’t stand. If she didn’t put her daughter in her place, the situation would only escalate.
