by Jen Talty
She blinked away the moistness that glistened in the corners of her eyes. While he composed himself, getting his anger in check, which was proving to be impossible, he cleaned up the spilled beer and cracked open another one.
“You’re awfully quiet.”
When he opened his mouth, an uncontrollable, menacing howl released from his lungs.
“Yeah, I feel the same way,” she said, tipping back her can.
“Does he still beat you?” the words vomited out of his throat. His already warm blood heated to inferno levels.
She lowered her gaze.
“Fuck me, why the hell do you stay?”
She snapped her head, glaring at him, her eyes emitting fiery dust. He was going to have to figure out where in her heritage the fairy part came from because based on how the room glowed red, he expected it was stronger than anyone thought possible.
Fairies and witches just didn’t mate.
“I’d do anything, include taking a few punches, to protect my sister. Something I thought you of all creatures would have understood.”
He deserved her wrath. He’d let anyone beat the crap out of him if it meant the twins were safe… and he’d die for Isidore if it came down to it.
“is there any way we can get your sister out before her branding ceremony?”
“She wants her powers, and she’s the kind of person that would use being a seer for the greater good. She’s not like the rest of my coven. She’s sweet. Special.”
“And you’re not?”
She snorted, which normally he’d find annoying, but on her, hell nothing she did could bother him…too much.
“I’m a trained killer.”
He shook his head. “You’re a protector, just like me. There is a key difference.”
“I was raised to hate what we don’t understand and make sure a future creature never gets born. That makes me a killer.”
“No. It doesn’t.” He eased around the island, leaning his hip against the counter, waving his fingers through the dust her body produced, gathering it up into a little ball. “You’re going to have to learn to control this.” He couldn’t really feel anything other than her warmth in the colors swarming between his fingertips. It was different from what the twins projected in both texture and strength.
“That’s coming from me?” she asked softly as she reached out to touch the magical substance, “What the hell is wrong with me?”
“Nothing.” He drew her into his arms. “We’re going to have to do some research into your family history, but I have a very strong feeling that you’re another royal fairy, like the mother of the twins.”
Chapter 6
ISIDORE OPENED her mouth and snapped it shut five times, staring into the kindest mocha latte eyes she’d ever seen.
They were warm.
Loving.
No.
“You didn’t seriously just try to take me as your mate?”
“You took me,” he said, his lips brushing her cheek just under the cut. “When you made my life more important than yours against your own kind.”
“It doesn’t work that way.”
He nestled his body between her legs, his hands gently rubbing her hips and lower back. “It does with the Royal Fairies. It happened to my brother, only he thought he claimed her before she was ready. Turns out, as we researched more about the royals, they speed up the process when they are put next to their mate.”
“But the Legend of the Princess and the Wolf doesn’t talk about other mates. Other potential new creatures. Just the one couple.”
“According to one of the fairy historians, the legend isn’t about one pairing between wolves and the royals, but many.”
Her vision blurred as a wave of nausea trickled from her stomach to her mouth. She gripped him for support. “You’re trying to tell me that I’m some kind of witch/fairy princess, and you and I are going to…going to…” She swallowed air, nearly choking on it. “I want to change my mind about picking you as a mate.”
He narrowed his eyes, cocking his head. “You should know that you can reject me as a mate, but with wolves, we mate for life, so I could never be with another while you’re still breathing.”
She patted his bare shoulders, praying her cheeks hadn’t turned bright red. “Pity for you.”
“Within a year of your rejection, I will have died.”
She dropped her head to his chest, wrapping her arms around his strong body, inhaling his summer ocean scent. It was like she was at the beach feeling the sun beat on her face and smelling the warm salty breeze. “Well, I don’t want you to die, so we have a problem.”
“Honestly, we have bigger problems than if and when we’re going to get married, have children, blah, blah, blah.”
She squeezed her eyes tight. When she’d gone to Gerri, all she wanted was a man that would help her and her sister. One that would be duty bound. She hadn’t thought about the consequences, like what would happen if she rejected her mate.
Not to mention having to tell him she’d never, ever been with a man before. She might have acted all tough and badass and tossed the kind of boys at her father that any dad, even a not so great one, would chase off with a shotgun.
Only she never slept with any one of them.
“Yeah, what problems are those?” she asked.
“You can never return to your coven, not even to get your sister.”
She jerked her head back, glaring. “I can’t leave her with that bastard. I won’t.”
“I’m not asking you to,” he said, cupping her chin. “But if your father sees you, he’ll know exactly what you’ve become, and he’ll prevent your sister’s branding ceremony.”
“Fuck, she’s part fairy too.” Isidore’s heart skipped a beat. “My father will kill us both.”
“I told you, I’ll die before I’ll allow that to happen. But you’re supposed to return in a week, right?”
She nodded.
“And if you don’t return?”
“Well, I don’t have enough of the potion to last longer than that, and they will send out a hunting party. Shit,” she mumbled.
“I know that witch was on a hunt. We don’t know who exactly she was after since in that room were five council members, three pack leaders, and—”
“And a protector,” she finished his statement, gliding her hands up and down his strong biceps.
“And a chosen one, turned traitor from her coven.”
She squeezed her eyes tight, unable to look at him. Tears formed, begging to be released. “You’ve known all along what I was sent to do.”
“We’ve been watching your father for a while now.”
Looking up at him, she swallowed her pride. “I couldn’t have killed an innocent being.”
“If we hadn’t have met, you probably could have—”
“I’m not like that, really, I’m not.” Her pleading voice scratched across her own ears like fingers on a chalkboard.
He kissed her forehead. “You would to save your sister. But I’m here now and together, we’re going to get your sister out of that coven and protect all that we hold dear.”
She wanted to deny the intense admiration…no, that wasn’t the right word, but she wouldn’t take the thought further. They’d only known each other for hours and yet they acted like they’d been lovers forever.
Not that she knew anything about being anyone’s lover.
“Don’t you find all this crazy? I mean. I can’t stop putting my hands on you, and you know I was sent to… to…” she couldn’t cough out the word kill again, “and well, your hands are on my ass.”
“And my lips are about to be on your neck.”
She tilted her head, giving him access. She dug her fingers into his firm muscles. Everything about him pushed her off-kilter. “Promise me you’ll help me get my sister.”
“I promise.” He cupped her face, kissing her temple, cheeks, then pressing his mouth over hers with the kind of touch that commanded her s
kin to draw him in like a flower dancing in the wind, it’s pollen lifting in the air, attract hungry bees. “We’ll devise a plan in the morning.”
“Why wait?” her voice barely audible even to herself. Her mind kept trying to overtake her heart, but whatever was going on with them, she couldn’t stop it.
Didn’t want to, either.
“Because once I tell my brother what’s going on, there won’t be any time for this.” His hand snaked up her side, cupping the underswell of her breast, his thumb fanning across her nipple.
She gasped, biting on her lower lip as her back arched.
“I want one night with you before we go into battle.” His tongue slipped between her lips.
Every inch of her body tightened with the deepest desire. She had nothing to compare it to, really. A few stolen kisses here and there, but she’d never found a man she wanted to explore, taste, savor, and experience all the things she fantasized about. All those things she never thought would be a part of her life because she’d be too busy protecting her and her sister from their father.
Wrapping her legs around Nico’s waist, she pressed her chest against his. Her breasts burned through the fabric of her bra. She needed him to touch her like she was the most desirable woman in the world.
He pinched and tugged at her hard-aching nipple.
“This shirt and bra have to go,” he whispered in that throaty growl he had, lining her skin with goosebumps.
“Bedroom,” she said, feeling exposed in the open room with all the lights on.
“I wouldn’t mind bending you over this chair, seeing our reflections in the window.”
She gasped at the visual that popped into her head and blushed at what the thought did to her panties. “Bedroom, please.”
“Whatever you desire.” He cupped her ass, heaving her off the chair, easing effortlessly across the family room, kicking open the door.
A king-size bed with four log posts stood proudly against the back wall. A dark-green comforter sprawled across the mattress.
He lowered her to the bed, the moon’s white elegance shining through the darkness creating just enough light, so she could see every crevice of his skin as she speckled his chest with soft kisses. With every press of her lips, pink dots floated in the air like little fireflies.
“Take off your shirt,” he said.
Scooting back slightly on the bed, she lifted the thin fabric over her head. His hands reached behind her, unhooking her lacy garment with the precision of a surgeon. Her small breasts sprung free, pleading to feel his fingers dent her flesh and his mouth take her body, making them one.
She held her breath as he traced a path from her lips to her nipple, gently twirling his finger in a circle, then continued a line down to her belly button. Her stomach quivered as he unfastened her pants. Heaving in a deep breath, she dared to catch his gaze. His long lashes flashed over his dark eyes while his mouth drew into a sultry smile.
He was going to be so disappointed when he found she had no experience in the art of making love.
She made her father believe she slept around because when he was mad at her, channeling all his anger in one direction, it kept Coral safe from his wrath. As long as he had a punching bag that continued to push his buttons, he wouldn’t move on to anyone else. She missed her mother so much it hurt, except she resented her as well.
She’d taken her own life, leaving her daughters with a lunatic.
“Isidore?” Nico sat on the edge of the bed. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Needing to get the past out of her head, she quickly forced down a shot of courage and straddled him. Sex was something that everyone knew how to do, even if they’d never done it before. But as with anything, it took practice to master the nuances of knowing what you liked and wanted and being able to intuitively understand your partner.
What the fuck. She just needed to go with the flow. Let him lead. She was a quick study.
Get out of your own head. She scolded herself while her tongue swirled around his, entwining them with hot passion. Maybe she should slide in a spell that would…
Oh, for fuck’s sake, it’s sex. It’s instinctual. Everyone has a first time. It’s not a big deal.
He cupped her face, breaking off the kiss, staring at her with wide eyes. It is a big deal.
Great, now I’m hearing things. She tilted her head, going in for another kiss, because, God, he could kiss like the earth was going to stop spinning tomorrow. And kissing, at least that she’d had a fair amount of experience with.
“You’re not hearing things,” he said as he tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. “Wolves can talk to one another in their minds.”
“No way am I now part wolf.”
He let out a dry chuckle. “No, you’re not. But most mates, regardless of species, can communicate with each other. What’s really weird is that Daphne, my sister-in-law and a princess fairy, can communicate with everyone this way, including the babies.”
“The babies can talk inside the womb?”
“To their parents.” He held her close, scooting across the bed, leaning back on the pillows.
As he moved, she felt every inch of his hardness between her legs, and her cheeks flushed bright red. Not so much at the sensation, but the thoughts racing through her head and then, oh God. She bit down on her lip. “Did you hear all that?”
“I can only hear what you project to me. We’re not mind readers.”
“I don’t know how to do that.”
It’s easy. Just try it.
It’s weird, that’s what it is. She wanted to ask how she’d projected a few minutes ago, but that meant she’d have to bring up the entire, never had sex before topic.
You get used to it. It will be good for us if we get into a sticky situation over the next week. He leaned up, kissing the tip of her nose. “Not to sound like a total dick, but you’re a grown woman, why haven’t you had sex before?”
“I was hoping you’d forgotten that part.”
Shame had always been the center of her existence. The mortification of being part of a coven who was driven by hate, lack of understanding, and a desire to use dark magic to destroy others was something she had carried for her entire life. The humiliation of her father’s beatings had become just another daily occurrence.
But all those emotions were slowly fading into the background the longer she stayed with Nico.
“Does it bother you?” she asked.
“Not at all. I kind of like the idea that no one else has had you before me.” He brushed her hair over her shoulders, exposing her breasts again.
Not a single twinge of embarrassment flowed through her body. Only the desire to please and get her fill as well.
“But I have to follow probably dozens of women.”
He laughed, holding up three fingers.
“You’re teasing me,” she said.
“Nope. My high school sweetheart and I dated for two years. She was the first. My next girlfriend lasted three years. My last one almost five years.”
“Did you love them?”
“If I had, I might have been able to mate with them.” His fingers glided up her back, sending warm shivers down her spine and puckering her nipples. “But now the only woman I’ll ever want or need or love is you.”
Her pulse raced as she pressed her palms against his pecs, leaning closer, letting them rub gently over his hard nubs. They tingled her skin as white and red specs zipped through the air. “I will never get used to that.”
“You’ll figure out how to control it, but for now, let’s make some fireworks.” He pinched her nipples with a wicked grin, but a sense of love illuminated from his whiskey-colored eyes. “If I’m hurting you, you have to promise to tell me.”
“As long as you promise to tell me if I’m doing something—”
He growled low and deep as she scooted down his legs, kissing his stomach, fumbling with his jeans zipper. She expected her fingers to shake faster than her he
art pounded.
“I take it that noise means you like this.” Her playful tone shocked her senses. This seemed more natural than the first time she’d ever casted a spell that worked. Working her fingers around his hardness, she reveled in the contrast of how soft and silky he felt in her hands.
As she bent over, kissing the tip of him, he wiggled out of his pants. Groans, growls, and a few hisses filled the room. Her lips coiled over the length of him, gliding him into her mouth until he touched the back of her throat. He tasted just like the ocean breeze.
He ran his hands through her hair, tossing it to the side.
“So, you’ve done this before,” he murmured.
Nope. Never. She glanced up, catching his laden gaze, enjoying being able to communicate with her lover without having to stop what she was doing.
“I like the sound of your voice,” he said, sucking in a deep breath as she let her teeth graze over his tender skin.
Busy. Can’t talk right now.
He fisted her hair, tugging her off him, and flipping her on her back, yanking her pants to her ankles.
“Hey. I wasn’t done.”
“Yeah, you were.” He kissed her ankle, staring at her naked body, licking his lips.
A trickle of wetness rolled down the inside of her leg. She held her breasts in her hands, toying with her nipples, watching as he kissed his way along her calf.
Palming her, he glided a finger inside.
Her breath hitched, and her hips rolled. Nothing had ever felt so intense and so delightful. Not even the best shot of whiskey money could buy. Colorful specks lined her skin, grabbing hold of him as he touched her intimately.
He took his soaked finger and popped it into his mouth.
What do I taste like?
He growled, inserting two fingers, stroking softly, letting his thumb rub her hard nub gently. The specs flew from her body, wrapping him in a blanket of lust.
Desire.
Love.
With his wet fingers, he traced her lips, and she eagerly sucked them into her mouth.
He nuzzled himself between her legs, breathing hot air on her sensitive womanhood. When his tongue darted out, licking her aching folds, she clutched her trembling stomach, her muscles contracting and releasing.
