Snow Time for Love

by Zenina Masters

  “You have a large family?”

  She nodded. “Three sisters and two brothers, all married and all working for the greenhouse and the family, with their families.”

  They swayed around the dance floor and others joined them. The novelty of his appearance had worn off. Shifters adapted quickly.

  When the song ended, she tried to back away, but he pulled her in again. She wasn’t used to being manhandled. Few, if any, men would dare.

  “I wish to get a drink.”

  “And I wish for one more dance. You are my host and my guide. It behoves you to make me feel comfortable.”

  She couldn’t understand why he was so insistent until he turned slightly and she saw the three other elves who were entering the Crossed Star. She must have been dazed, indeed, because there was no way she should have missed that blinding light again.

  Only one out of the three was staring her way, the other two converged on a woman sitting in a booth on her own. The small flash from her wristband indicated that she was in the same situation as Nova. She was here for them. Or at least one of them.

  The elf who was watching her had golden skin and thick lines around his eyes giving him an exotic look. He had tawny hair and a lazy, predatory grace that she found fascinating. She blinked rapidly and scowled.

  “Reygaer, if I kick an elf in the nuts, will he lose his grip on his glamour?”

  “And possibly his lunch, why? Mine is down.”

  She nodded and leaned back to smile brightly, “But his isn’t and it is irritating me.”

  He released her. “Please, do what you must.”

  Nova stepped away from him and stalked toward the newcomer. He bowed low and looked up at her with a flirtatious gaze.

  “Lady, I am delighted to meet you. May I know your name?”

  Before he could rise, she gave him an uppercut that flipped him backward, a follow-up punch to his junk cracked his glamour, and when he landed with a thud, she was looking at an exceptionally handsome man with a dazed and pained look on his face.

  She knelt next to him and threaded her fingers through his hair. “You are here to meet shifters who depend on their senses to find their mate. Using a glamour is just going to irritate them, and then, they won’t trust you. I have given you this introduction to the new world you have entered as a polite warning. No one here will judge you for what you did as long as you don’t do it again.”

  She dropped his head. “And my name is Nova.”

  She got to her feet and returned to Reygaer, dusting her hands off as she walked.

  Chuck poured the newcomer a drink and handed it to him with the admonition, “She could have used her claws to fire the point home.”

  Reygaer took her back to their spot on the polished floor, and they started to sway again.

  He waited a moment and said, “So, that could have been my greeting?”

  “You dropped your glamour right away. I will tell Teal and Tony to warn the fey. There is nothing that confuses our senses like smelling one thing and seeing another. It is why I steer clear of soy. It tastes like protein but it isn’t meat.”

  He was amused and her words made him snicker out loud. “So, I am meat to you?”

  “No, you are a dance partner and my charge until you find the woman you are meant to be with.”

  “And what if you are that woman?”

  She looked at him through her lashes, “My beast will have to decide, and while she is loving the cool feeling of your body, I am not sure that your beast form and hers will match. I have to ask, how do they know which fey to send?”

  “Seers.” He pressed his hand to her lower back, and his eyes grew heavy lidded with pleasure. “The seers see an animal that will connect to our lives. In my path, they saw a white tiger; also, the other three were probably exposed to a white tiger in their visions but not as the primary beast.”

  “So, on the off chance, they gather everyone who has the same beast in their vision and send them here at the same time?”

  He nodded as if it was the most reasonable thing. “That is correct.”

  “So, if I hadn’t said yes...”

  “I would be waiting until you did or waiting until another white tiger entered the Crossroads who was willing to take a chance on the fey.”

  She took a deep breath and held it as she pressed her lips to Reygaer’s. Cool, like everything else about him, he waited a moment as she got the nerve to deepen the kiss.

  There was no place safer than the Crossed Star for a first kiss. If anything got out of hand, Chuck or Spike would step in.

  As they kissed in the middle of the dance floor, Nova felt a building of her beast’s energy under her skin. The pressure increased until she felt the flow of fey magic into her mouth. The combination of shifter and fey magic mingled, and a blast of power shot out in a circle from the union of their lips.

  Nova leaned back in his embrace, and the shock she felt was echoed in his face.

  Applause broke out wildly from the shifters. The three fey looked a little confused.

  Her victim moved over to them and asked, “What was that?”

  The shadows in the corner of the bar moved and parted, allowing a graceful woman with long midnight hair and brilliant green eyes to become visible. “It was a meeting of equal and opposite.”

  A man came out of the shadows behind her, as striking as his companion was beautiful.

  Dira and Mak stood side by side, and from the far corner, an elder fey stepped forward.

  Nova looked from one to the other. “You were watching?”

  Dira smiled. “You are the strongest possible match we could find. If this is going to work, we had to prove it quickly.”

  Reygaer bowed to the senior fey approaching.

  The man had long white hair and a pathway of wrinkles around his eyes, but those eyes were clear and bright with hope.

  “Rise, Lord Frostwind. I am surprised you volunteered for this but gratified by the progress you are making.”

  “Thank you, High Lord West.”

  “You are welcome. Will you introduce me?”

  Reygaer blinked and a deep purple stained his cheeks. “Of course. High Lord West of the People of the Echo, this is Nova Spalding of the shifters, my intended bride.”

  Nova looked at the older elf and gave a graceful curtsey that apparently surprised him.

  He took her hand and kissed the back of it. “Welcome to the new heartbeat of your life.”

  Nova quirked her lips. “It isn’t certain because we have been determined equal, nor because he declares me his intended. This isn’t over until we prove that our beasts are compatible or that our bodies are. Shifters don’t take anything on faith or destiny. We prove our paths. Once I have Lord Frostwind naked, I will believe the seers.”

  Dira was howling with laughter and holding on to Mak.

  Mak was trying to keep his dignity, but he said, “She isn’t wrong. Shifters do it by physical feedback.”

  Reygaer tightened his hand on Nova’s waist. “High Lord, I would hate for this experiment to remain unratified.”

  “You do realize that this lacks dignity.”

  Nova sighed, “You do realize that for most shifters life is too short for dignity. We like to live our lives, not formalize them into empty rituals. No disrespect intended, but this is why we are thriving and you are fading. I have yet to see a fey who doesn’t look bored with their own existence. This will inject some much-needed fun. Shorter lives but much more energy.” She paused. “High Lord.”

  She curtseyed again and he started to laugh.

  “Reygaer, please continue your courtship elsewhere before I have the urge to take your mate over my knee.”

  “You are as wise as ever, High Lord.”

  Nova yelped as Reygaer put his arm around her waist and lifted her as he walked out of the Crossed Star to laughter and shouts of relief. Nova knew at that moment that they were fairly sure this just might work.

  Chapter Five
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br />   “This lacks a certain amount of dignity.” She idly kicked her feet as he carried her.

  “I thought shifters didn’t care about dignity.”

  She grinned and twisted to look at him. “We don’t. I just wanted to make sure you knew I could see it when it was around, though I don’t miss it when it is gone.”

  Her heart was buzzing, her skin was tingling and she finally understood what her sisters had been trying to tell her. When you met your mate, you could feel it in every inch of you. Her brothers had been more macho about it, but their mates had told her that the fascination had been mutual on both their parts. Her brothers had fallen over themselves to keep their mates’ attention on them, and it had led to a few interesting scenarios.

  Now, she was facing a man that she was pretty sure was the one for her, and he had removed her from the space where his competition was located with an instinct she applauded. His instincts were sound.

  When he set her down on her feet, she stepped away from him. “Was that the head of your clan?”

  “The High Lord of the People of the Echo? More or less. He is the lord of the fey of the mountains. We also answer to a High King.”

  “Lots of High guys.” She nodded.

  “Do not let his appearance fool you. The fey choose to appear aged. When he threatened to turn you over his knee, he was flirting with you.” Reygaer smiled and cupped her cheek.

  She felt her eyes widen. “You mean he wanted to...”

  “He would have liked to try. I would have had to stop him and that would have ended in our banishment.” He leaned toward her and kissed her briefly before whispering, “It would have been worth it.”

  Nova smiled and cupped his cheek. “I would have clawed him to shreds before he did more than unsnap my bra.”

  “You are not wearing a bra.”

  “How kind of you to notice.”

  “With your curves, it is impossible not to notice.” He smiled.

  She closed her eyes as he ran his hands over those very curves. His skin cooled, and she grinned as her nipples perked and the rest of her leaned into his grip.

  She pulled his head to hers and kissed him as the air around them cooled. Her blood surged, and she slipped her tongue into his mouth.

  He groaned and held her against him, tightening his grip until she could feel every plane, angle and ridge in his body. Their kiss grew wild, and to Nova’s delight, it started to snow.

  The kisses of tiny bits of ice on her skin made her smile, which made the kiss awkward. Delight and arousal rode her hard. She twisted her hips against him and her inner cat rumbled happily.

  She paused and pulled back, which was not an easy manoeuver given his grip on her. “She is beginning to like you.”

  “Are you speaking of yourself in the third person?” He kissed her neck and licked the pulse that she could feel throbbing under his lips.

  She moaned and tilted her head to the side. “No, I am referring to my tigress. She isn’t sure if she likes you, but she loves the snow.”

  She opened her eyes enough to see that the blizzard she was standing in was only a column of wild weather in an otherwise green field.

  Reygaer gathered her skirts up and lifted them over her head. He knelt and cupped her breasts in his hands, and his mouth iced one and then the other. Her body shook in his grip.

  The trickle of moisture down her inner thigh sent the flames in her body higher, and he met each one with slow attention to the tight nubs of her nipples and the slopes of her breast.

  Nova tangled her fingers in his hair, and she felt the surprisingly sharp points of his ears. He tugged at her nipple with his teeth and pulled her down to the snowy grass.

  His lips swallowed her yelp of surprise. Her fingers tugged at the fabric of his shirt, but it was her claws that tore it free.

  He leaned back and looked down in surprise. “You clawed my shirt off.”

  She blushed and squirmed a little. “I did. Be lucky I haven’t reached for your pants.”

  He took her right hand in his and kissed her palm then the sharp tips of her nails. “What pants?”

  She looked down, and his ice-blue erection reared between them. He was right; there was nothing in the way.

  She wrapped her fingers around his cock and stroked at the smooth, cool shaft. “You are right. I was mistaken.”

  He dipped his fingers into her until he was sure of his welcome, and he gently pulled her hand away from him. “I am sure that we can discuss the matter of fey clothing choices later.”

  She lifted her hips to his and watched his dark eyes as he slid into her. She saw flickers of bright light in his eyes and was sure that they were in her own as well.

  They both shuddered when he slid home as if she was made for him or he was made for her. When he rocked inside her, she wrapped her legs around him and held on tight.

  Light sparked between them, lit and flared around them as they rolled in the grass so that she could take the top. She saw the snowflakes on his skin and smiled, pausing in her ride to press her lips to his skin.

  He groaned as she traced the outline of the snowflake with her tongue. She shifted her tongue slightly, and the rasp of it on his skin caused him to lift his hips and thrust deep inside her.

  Nova grinned and licked the other snowflake with the same slow attention.

  Reygaer moved his hand between them and stroked her clit until she started to move on him again.

  She lifted her head and braced her hands in the snow next to them, plunging and rocking her hips against his, savouring the feel of the cool rod inside her. The sparks ran across her skin, skittered against him and cascaded over his torso.

  He rolled until he was on top again and pushed into her, grinding his hips on the inward stroke. She gasped and moaned low, hanging onto his arms for dear life.

  Reygaer began to whisper to her in words she didn’t understand, but the low urgency in his voice crossed language barriers.

  Nova moved a hand between them and stroked her clit until her climax started in a wave that flared blue energy through her and into the man on top of her.

  She roared, and her beast roared with her, holding onto her mate as energy poured out of her and into him in a rush.

  Reygaer shouted and held himself inside her.

  She felt the rush of power course through him and enter her in the most direct way possible.

  Snowflakes perched on her skin before melting against her heat. Reygaer’s arms were around her and he was pressing small kisses to her shoulder.

  “I think that makes it official.” His voice was a low rumble against her skin.

  “I think that you might be right. You have won my beast over. I am guessing that yours doesn’t really matter that much after all.”

  “Oh, but now I want to show you.” He kissed her neck and turned her so that she was staring up at his ice-blue features.

  He moved away from her and got to his feet, walking a few steps away in order to surround himself in magic and leave a polar bear in his place.

  Nova sat up and stared. Her senses were telling her that there was a large bear in front of her. She got to her feet and walked over to him. “Polar bear.”

  She ran her hands through the translucent fur and looked into his black eyes. He gestured with his head.

  “You want me to ride you?”

  He made a gargling roar and huffed.

  She grabbed his fur and pulled herself astride him. The world was incredibly small from this height.

  He made a strange sound, and she guessed it was a warning to hang on. He took a few steps, and soon, he was rocking through the meadow in a gallop that she had never imagined could cover the kind of ground he was currently sprinting over.

  When he had travelled the two miles of the expanded shifter’s meadow, he turned and stopped. To her surprise, he reared up on his hind legs and she tumbled off.

  Sitting in the grass, she took in the gesture of his head and realized he wanted to race.<
br />
  She smiled and took on her tigress, lashing her tail as she prepared to run.

  He took off without her and she growled, bounding after him.

  Her claws bit into the turf, and she pushed herself faster and faster until she passed him and streaked back to their clothing.

  When she arrived, she shifted back, pulled on her gown and waited for him, watching the watch that wasn’t there.

  “You are very slow, Reygaer. If you are going to challenge me to a race, you might want to do speed drills.”

  He stood up on his hind legs, and after a flurry of magic, he was back in his fey form with his clothing on.

  “You are very fast, and the view from behind you is well worth the loss.” He grinned and put his arms around her.

  “How do you do that thing with the clothing?” She plucked at his shirt.

  “Practice.” He winked. “If the transfer works, I will teach you. Will you teach me to shift at speed, like you do? One moment you were on four feet and in the next you were on two.”

  “Practice.”

  He chuckled and they began to walk toward the Bright Soul.

  “I wonder if Teebie will be happy or disappointed that I won’t be hanging around this time.” She was enjoying the feel of being next to Reygaer, but it was like running into a friend at the airport and thinking you both had a layover when one’s flight was called early.

  She had spent so much time focusing on friends and family that it was going to take a while before she could uncouple and aim her attentions at her mate.

  Everything had a strange gleam to it. The buildings were glowing with blends of white, green and blue magic.

  “Do you see that?” she rubbed her eyes and focused again. Everything around her was bristling with magic.

  “See what?”

  “Magic, everywhere there is magic. The blue of the shifters, the white of the fey and the green of the mages.”

  He looked at her with an indulgent and surprised smile. “That is the way fey see the world. Are you really seeing all of it?”

  She blinked. “How else would I know it was there?”

  “Don’t you normally see shifter magic?”

  “Only when I transform. The rest of the time, I rely on my senses.”