by Kaye Draper
I might have lost my mind for a minute there. I forgot all about my asshole mother and the wonderful scandal we were causing in her mind. Instead I gloried in those soft, wicked lips against mine. That lithe, graceful body pressed to my curves. He tasted like honey and growing things.
Sharp teeth grazed my lower lip, pulling me back to reality. Green eyes twinkled up at me, full of mischief and something darker...something dripping with lust. I couldn't even start to deal with the thought that maybe he hadn't pulled this stunt just for show.
I saw my mother go rigid out of the corner of my eye. I turned my smirk at her expression into a sweet smile as I threaded my hand through all that fiery silk and pulled Oisin in for another leisurely kiss. He shuddered at the hair-pulling, and I sighed into his mouth. Too bad there was company. Or maybe it was for the best. Because one taste of Oisin and I was screwed. Or I would be....
Letting go slowly, I stood up and pretended to just now realize my mom was in the room. "Oh. Did you need something, Ida?"
She pressed her lips into a thin line. Uh-oh. Oisin better run. She was out for blood now. "I don't know what kind of absurd behavior you've been up to until now, young lady. But that gryphon out there is your mate," her sharp yellow-gold eyes cut to Oisin—meant to fillet him alive, I'm sure. "And this little...thing is done warming your bed. Take out the trash. Then come out here and stop shirking your duty to your clan!"
I swallowed down the rest of my whiskey. Oisin lounged against the island, looking like a disheveled, ethereal sex god, his smirk still firmly in place. "Gryphons are so wonderfully dramatic," he said, taking a sip of his own drink. He grimaced and glanced at me. "How do you drink this poison without any honey?"
I rolled my eyes. He took his coffee strong, but alcohol was a problem? Just like the mead he favored, the fae was best taken with a dose of something sweet.
He winked at my mother with those crystalline eyes of his. "Cool your tail feathers, mother lion. There's plenty of Gesa to go around. The stuffy gryphon fellow can just join her harem."
He said that last part as he slunk around her and glided out into the living room—loud enough Gerard could hear it all.
I smirked at my mother. Oh my Gods, the expression on her face was priceless. I followed Oisin, ignoring Ida's indignant huff.
Male gryphons often took prides. A ridiculous way of saying that, just like wild lions, they could keep a harem of females, as well as their chosen wife. But if a female should try that shit. Yep, you guessed it. Shunning.
I grinned at Oisin. "I like that idea," I said, stoking the fires. Gerard's face was nearly purple from holding back his big 'ol alpha urge to start shit. "But Gerard would never do. He's way too uptight." I pinched Oisin's ass for good measure.
The fae turned his head to shoot me a glare. "That is going to bruise." He grinned. "Then you'll have to kiss it and make it better."
The room was spinning a bit from all the whiskey, and I had to try so hard to keep from doubling up in laughter. Not only was Oisin an unsuitable match for a gryphon because he was so pretty and delicate. Now he was making it sound like I was the dominant one in the relationship. A dominant female with her own pride. I was amazed my mother and not-fiancé hadn't burst into flames yet from the blasphemy of it all.
"Later," I stage whispered.
Ida crossed her arms over her chest. "Gesa. Enough of this foolishness. I know what you're doing, and it won't work. Pulling our tails just to get a reaction is not going to get you out of your duty to the clan."
I pouted. "Oh shucks. She's on to me."
The woman only gave me the bland look she always wore when I disappointed her. Well tough titties. She'd disappointed me pretty hard when she let the entire gryphon council call me a liar. The hurt that pulsed inside me whenever I was in her presence rose up and stabbed me in the heart.
Oisin slid a questioning glance my way, his brow furrowed for a moment, as if he could sense my rage. Then his face smoothed out. He sighed as he emptied his glass of whiskey and set it on the coffee table.
Straightening, he lost his teasing veneer. It was kind of terrifying. His eyes went dangerous and brittle, his sharp features lost all trace of softness, and a tingle of fae magic drifted off him. I knew every one of us in the room suddenly recalled the fabled wild hunt. The way certain fae clans hunted and killed—sometimes their own kind—just for the fun of it.
"Gesa clearly doesn't want you here," he said, voice barely a whisper, but chilling in its intensity. "Amusing as this has been, I want her to myself now. Leave."
I watched in awe as both my mother and Gerard stood suddenly, stiffened like wood and walked toward the door, movements jerky and unnatural like marionettes. Holy shit.
They crossed the threshold and Oisin's usual sly, teasing expression returned to his face. "This has been great fun," he said in a singsong voice. Let's do it again sometime, hmm? We are like family now, after all." He slid his arm around my waist and waved at my stunned clan members. The door slammed in their faces without anyone touching it.
I put some space between us and went to take a drink, only to realize my glass was empty. "That was fucking terrifying, Oisin. And amazingly hot," I said, shooting for humor and failing. My voice was a little shaky.
This was why most supes steered clear of the fae. They were frighteningly deceptive. The more beautiful and ethereal they were, the more power lurked in them. They were soft, strutting in their pretty clothes, joking and making fun of mortals. But the truth was, they were fucking deadly. And their morals were always just a tad skewed, something that happened when you lived forever.
"Did you have something more to tell me about the kappa?" I said, determined to plow on despite the tinge of fear hanging in the air.
Oisin turned to me, his eyes probing. "I spoke with a friend who also works at the club." He stalked a step closer, all sleek predator.
I gryphoned up and stood my ground. "And?"
Slender, graceful fingers slid up across my jaw to cup the back of my head. "I find I don't care to talk about that right now."
Furious green eyes bored into mine. "They hurt you," he said slowly. "I don't understand how, but they don't get to keep hurting you." His voice dropped to a sultry, pouty whisper. "And using compulsion magic makes my head ache. Make me feel better."
He tugged me down to his height and I resisted for a heartbeat. "This is dangerous."
I didn't just mean because he scared me horny. I also meant it in a more universal sense, and he knew it. If I wasn't shunned before, I certainly would be if anyone found out I was fucking a fae. And his people would probably accuse him of bestiality or some shit—the prejudices went both ways.
He smiled, slow and sultry and... real this time. "I don't care. Life is for living, my dear beautiful beast."
I closed my eyes so I wouldn't see those gorgeous green eyes and that wicked mouth. This was such a bad idea.
His other hand landed on my hip and traced up my side and back, sending shivers of magic dancing over my skin through my t-shirt. Gods.
But...wasn't this the reason I left my clan behind? So I could choose how I lived my life? Who I wanted in my bed? I wanted this snarky little fae more than I'd ever wanted anyone in my life. Was I going to tell myself no because the clan wouldn't like it?
Fuck no.
I lowered my head and dropped my hands to his hips. Sensing my decision, Oisin pressed closer, his soft lips meeting mine, his hands smoothing up under my shirt to pull the cotton scrap off over my head.
He bent his head to my breasts, pushing them up to spill out over the top of my bra, then suckling the nipples into hard peaks, nipping just hard enough to make me gasp. I knotted my hands in his silky hair, snapping the band that held it, so it tumbled free in a river of fire.
Shimmering green eyes peered up at me as he tilted his head. A hard, pulsing length pressed to my thigh through the thin layers of our clothes, and magic shivered over my skin. I felt like I was standing on the edge o
f a cliff.
"Bedroom?" he purred.
I nodded, swallowing hard. Taking his hand, I stepped right over that edge and led him to my underwhelming bedroom.
Chapter 8
The bedroom was as dingy as the rest of the apartment. But the one thing I had splurged on since moving here was my ridiculous bed. It was hard getting comfortable when your feet were hanging over the edge of a damned human-sized bed. So, I ordered the biggest one I could find. And since I had gone to that length already, I went ahead and got the silly silk sheets, fluffy pillows and down duvet to go with it.
Oisin's eyes widened, then narrowed, and he purred with delight. "Oh Gesa, I knew you were a gem under all that bitchy exterior."
I laughed. "Takes one to known one," I said, slipping out of my bra and pants.
Oisin smirked at me as he undressed. "Touché."
I drank him in. I'd never had a lover who was so short and slender. Gryphon sexuality was all about strength and stature and overt displays of masculinity. I pushed away the darkness that thought brought with it.
Oisin walked toward me, slinking, taking his time, his expression saying he knew just what I was thinking. There was no fear of judgment in him, only power and confidence.
He was so different than any of my other lovers. Sleek and graceful. There was muscle there, but in that defined way of a dancer or a gymnast, rather than a hulking bodybuilder. By human standards he was probably thought girlish, and I wondered if he dealt with same odd stereotypes I did, out here in this human world with its backward priorities.
His red hair rippled around him, reaching to just above his perfect round buttocks. He reached down and stroked himself, drawing my attention to a long cock, flushed dusky pink with desire.
I nearly choked on my own tongue. He was so gorgeous. Beautiful in a way I would never be. He halted in front of me, head cocked to the side, eyes full of mischief. "What do you want, Gesa?"
I hated that my eyes prickled a little bit at that. What did I want? No one had ever asked me that before.
I gave a nervous chuckle. "I... don’t know." It was the truth. And not just regarding sex. I had no fucking clue what I was doing with my life. I was drifting lost at sea.
He slipped closer, his soft skin sliding against mine, his hand caressing my cheek. "Well, we'll just have to try everything until we figure it out, then won't we?"
I laughed. "Gods you are terrifying. And perfect."
He chuckled as he stood on tip toes to trace a hot, tingling trail along my throat with his mouth, pausing to nip and tease as he went. "Sounds like you are describing yourself, my beautiful beast."
I gripped his hips and pulled him closer, capturing that ridiculous mouth with my own. His erection ground against my thigh and I pulled back with a grin. "What is it that you want, you little trickster?"
He smiled, sly and dangerous. "To live. To feel. Everything."
He pushed me backward, toward the bed, and I went willingly, pulling him along as I fell. I'd had a few one-night stands since my emancipation from the clan, but they had been impatient encounters with one goal in mind—to conquer my fear and find release. Oisin's eyes, his touch, promised it wouldn't be that easy with him...and that was as terrifying as it was tempting.
He took a long while to worship my breasts with his clever mouth, leaving me breathless and drenched with want before he slid lower, dropping hot kisses across my ribs and stomach, and put that wicked tongue to work elsewhere.
He grasped my hips and pulled me forward, surprisingly strong for his size, draping me over the edge of the bed, my feet over his shoulders, then knelt and licked every inch of my exposed flesh in slow, maddening strokes that made my clit throb.
A hint of teeth had me moaning and fisting my hands in that river of fiery hair as I came.
Oisin bit my inner thigh, the sting of his pointed teeth bringing me from floating numbness back to sharp awareness. He stood and I scooted back on the bed, making room for him.
He had dropped his human glamour. The tips of long, pointed ears poked through his hair, and all his features were sharper, more predatory. He stood there, looking down at me with sparkling emerald eyes, slowly stroking himself, the head of his cock damp with his own need. "Tell me, Gesa," he said, the slightest bit of magic slipping out to dance over my skin. "Should I fuck you senseless...or are you going to fuck me?"
I opened and closed my mouth a few times. Oh holy Gods. He wasn't joking about being up for anything. The old fear wanted to rise up, but at his words it fell back, confused. "I...." Words failed me as my mind flipped through possibilities, fantasies I wanted, but had no clue how to act on. I held out my hands and begged wordlessly.
Luckily, the snarky sex-incarnate fae seemed to understand. He knelt between my legs and slid those graceful hands up my thighs. "You are so glorious," he said, fingers digging into the thick muscles of my quads.
I snorted. Fear rose and fell as he hovered over me, but I wouldn't let it win. I wasn't pretty or delicate. Not feminine at all, really. But for once, that seemed...okay. More than okay, if the lust-drenched look I was receiving from those emerald eyes was any indication.
But Oisin hesitated, searching my face. One hand reached up to trace my cheek. "Are you really so afraid of this, sweetheart?"
I swallowed hard, eyes sliding away from his perceptive gaze. I never explained to the others, the quick human encounters. But the fae could feel the fear I was fighting. "No, I...." I shook my head. Now I was completely ruining something I knew could be so amazing, if I just let it. I was so weak.
I sighed as Oisin eased himself down to lie close, our bodies pressed together, but not joined, his heartbeat steady against my ribs as he leaned on an elbow, off to one side so he could look at my face. My own heart thundered so hard I thought it would burst. I felt cornered. Like prey. Again. Gryphons weren't meant to be prey.
Slender fingers stroked down my cheek and across my neck and collar bones, begging me to look at him.
Well, this whole clusterfuck was about to come to a screeching halt anyway. Either my continued fear turned him off, or I told him the truth and he went running.
But I was a gryphon. Truth was kind of our thing. Usually.
"It's not you," I said, still not looking at him, not ready to face the disgust. "I do want this." A laugh escaped me. "So fucking bad."
He bent to press a kiss to my chest, above my breasts. "But?" I felt his breathing hitch, a little hesitation. "Is it...because of what I am? I promise you, Gesa, the stories of compulsion through pleasure are...well, not lies exactly, but certainly overblown."
Oh Gods. In my rush to fall into bed with him, I had completely forgotten about the way fae drew humans in and enthralled them, leaving them mindless and confused. I swallowed that new surge of fear.
Oisin sighed. "It's okay. I get it. No one should fear for their free will."
He started to move away, clearly misinterpreting everything. I finally looked at him, wrapped an arm around his slender waist to keep him close. "Please. It's not...I just." I gritted my teeth, furious with myself for being so weak. Fed up with my own bumbling, I spat the words out. They were like glass shards on my tongue.
"I was raped."
The ugly words hung in the air between us like a noxious cloud.
Oisin's eyes widened for a moment. I closed my own eyes and let out a short, humorless laugh. "I know. How does a creature as strong as I am let someone use them that way, right? It's fucking ridiculous. And to still be so fucking scared? It's pathetic."
A little surge of magic danced over my skin where we touched. I opened my eyes to find a furious fae staring back at me, his expression promising death. "The only thing that is fucking ridiculous," he said calmly, "is you making a stupid statement like that, my beautiful beast."
I felt beyond awkward lying here discussing this in this position. But at the same time, it kind of felt good to confess. This thing was always a weight between me and any potential mates. I feared
it always would be. That's why I stuck to one-night encounters with humans.
"I'm a gryphon," I said, glaring at him. "And I was a trained bodyguard. How could I let him...."
Oisin chuckled darkly. "Do you think you are the strongest creature in all the world?" His hands slid along my arms, slender fingers locking around my wrists. "I'm tiny compared to you," he whispered. "Please, you big, strong gryphon warrior. Fight me."
I stared up at him, confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"
He raised a delicate red brow. "Just what I said. Move. Get up. Overpower one small, pretty man."
I was starting to get angry.
Grunting, I snatched my arm away from his grip.
Or...I tried to. It was like being pinned down by a boulder. Magic tingled over my skin and I sucked in a breath. Oisin simply smiled down at me, unconcerned. Not even straining.
I had to outweigh him by like fifty, seventy-five pounds. I tried to roll away. I couldn't budge him. The fear rose up inside me at being held down. Helpless. Oisin was weaker than I was physically. But his magic was a heavy weight that I couldn't escape.
Tears gathered in my eyes and I panted as I started to panic. "Let me go, fae."
He tilted his head, sending a curtain of red silk tickling across my breasts. "Not until you say it. Get up, Gesa."
I stared at him though the haze of fear and anger. "I fucking can't, okay? You're stronger than I am!"
His magic trickled away and I rolled, flipping him under me, one of his arms pinned to the bed, my other hand at that slender throat, ready to strangle him or break his neck. He let me hold him down, a soft, sad smile on his face. "Was that so hard? And now? If you overpower me and do something terrible, who would be to blame? The victim? Or the attacker?"
I blinked at him. "You couldn't just say all that? You had to scare the living fuck out of me?" Anyone else would probably be a psychotic mess after that.
He smirked. "Some of us only learn through brute force. I'm pretty sure talking at you would be a wasted effort."
