by Bonnie Vanak
His expression shuttered, but not before she caught a flash of severe disapproval. “I will inform the King you are remaining in Florida for a week to refresh your spirit.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Refresh her spirit. Oh yes, she would…
Kendall shook his head. “Do not stray, Ninianne. You will pay a very dear price for violating your vow.”
Lifting his arms, he chanted and dissolved into thousands of droplets of mist.
A sudden chill raced down her spine at the ominous warning in his words. She shivered, then glanced at the kitchen. Gabriel stood at the window, watching her.
She went into the house. He leaned against the counter.
“Tall, dark and gloomy left the building yet?”
“Kendall returned to Oregon. I’m staying.”
“I knew you would.”
And in that instant, she knew something as well. They would become lovers. It was inevitable, evident in the lust she felt spiraling through her body, in his knowing gaze. She wanted someone to love her if only for a few short hours.
Sienna sucked in a breath. “Can I help with dinner? How many are eating?”
“Just two.” He crossed the distance between them. “My men went out to the swamp to hunt for the evening.”
“They don’t like your cooking?”
“They adore my cooking. I asked them to leave.” He took a strand of her blond hair and twirled it around his finger, then tugged her toward him. “I do have a special dish in mind for you.”
“I’ll bet you do,” she whispered.
“Why did you choose to remain, Sienna, Elven of the Northern Light?” A muscle twitched in his strong jaw, as if he were uncertain. “Are you aware of the consequences?”
She startled. “You overheard.”
“Every word. I have excellent hearing. I am a lowly beast shifter.” The tight smile on his face hid secrets she sensed he would not discuss. He released her hair and stepped back.
“I know what will happen. But it’s my life and my choice,” she told him.
“Then I will do my utmost to make the pleasure worth paying the price.” He crooked a finger at her. “Will you accompany me? I have a special treat for you, in case you did decide to stay.” He smiled. “A special meal.”
In his bedroom, the king-sized bed was covered with clean white sheets. Several bottles of virgin coconut oil lined his dresser. Sienna gave him an inquiring look.
“The meal?”
He came closer, his muscled body moving smoothly, as if his panther claimed every step. “The appetizer. You, naked and covered with oil, and me, working it into every inch of your skin. Across your breasts, between your legs. Like this.”
He uncapped a jar and dipped his finger into the oil. Then he slid his finger down her neck and licked it off.
Slowly.
Sienna threw back her head and moaned. His tongue was wicked and stroked fire on her skin. What would it feel like, having him lick her all over?
Gabriel leaned closer, his voice a smoky whisper. “The oil is a lubricant and makes penetration easier for a virgin’s first time. I’ll be very gentle, pixie. Take it nice and slow until you get used to me deep inside you.”
A delicious shiver snaked down her spine and her entire body clenched. She was 25 years old and had lived her entire life according to what others expected. For once she wanted to put her needs first. Sienna wanted to embrace life and all it had to offer, to experience the pleasures of the flesh.
Breaking the rules promised punishment. But as Gabriel pulled her into his arms, his gaze centered on her mouth, she didn’t care. There might be hell to pay, but as Gabriel promised, the pleasure would be worth the price.
Chapter 1
Twenty-five years later, south Florida
After 25 years, he’d finally see Sienna Bennett again. Scent her, taste her and then coax her into his bed.
And then use her dark powers to destroy whatever the hell was killing his people.
Gabriel Sanders headed for the storage shed holding topsoil needed for the nursery. Homeowners flocked to his business to purchase plants, wanting to beautify their concrete castles. Too much development in these parts infringed on his clan’s territory. They’d had to adjust with the growth, just as the wild creatures in the Everglades did. Those who had not died.
Inside the storage shed, the rich, fertile scent reminded him of Sienna, the Elf he’d never forgotten. They’d shared three incredible nights of sex, passion that stirred his cat’s feral blood, and then she’d vanished from his life.
Gabriel lifted a 100-lb sack from the row of neatly stacked bags and hefted it over one shoulder. Carrying it outside, he walked past several greenhouses, the gardeners within lovingly tending the young plants.
The brilliant sunshine beat upon him as a cooling breeze lifted strands of his hair. He passed the rows of cabbage and coconut palm saplings, passed the sections of citrus trees, their sharp and sweet scent tangling with the darker smell of the nearby swamp, and headed for his house.
The dirt pathway snaking through the trees split after a half mile, the right fork leading to his home.
He chose the left fork. Old farming equipment sat corroding in the humid air, the rusty flakes returning the metal parts back to the earth. He threaded through the machinery to a strip of land separating the swamp from his property.
This section of earth leading to the sacred spring of Danu was lifeless, the soil gray as volcanic ash. A granite boulder guarded a narrow graveled pathway marching from the soil into a tangle of cocoplum trees protecting the swamp’s entrance. Upon the boulder was perched a silver-haired elderly man, jeans upon his stubby legs and a long-sleeved green shirt covering his thickset body. His feet were bare, and quite hairy.
He was asleep. Again.
Grunting, Gabriel lifted the heavy bag and sent it crashing down upon the man’s skull. He awoke with a startled yelp as the bag split, scattering soil in every direction.
“In the name of the light that gives life, what did you do that for?” the man yelled.
Gabriel folded his arms across his chest. “You’re supposed to be keeping watch.”
“You could have killed me!”
“A tractor trailer couldn’t split that thick head of yours.” He rapped his knuckles upon the bristling hairs covering the man’s head. Then again, Olin wasn’t a man. He was a goblin, and everyone knew goblins had skulls tougher than modern day Kevlar. It’s what made them effective as guards. They were hard to kill.
Unfortunately, they were also notoriously lazy.
The land eagerly siphoned the rich soil like a child sucking up the last of an ice cream soda. It would do the same to any unwary soul foolish or brave enough to set foot here without the protection of enchantment.
Gabriel had once witnessed a desperate, fleet-footed fox shifter scurry across the gray lands, only to be sucked down, his screams cut off as he’d vanished into the soil.
“Have you scented her yet, Olin?”
The goblin rubbed his head and scowled. “Wouldn’t I have alerted you if I had?”
“You were asleep.” Sighing, Gabriel dropped to the boulder beside his assistant. “I’m tired of waiting.”
“You’re too impatient. She’ll be here. You know she will.”
“Is that what your spies say?” Gabriel demanded. “What if she is not infected?”
“Sienna’s infected, trust me. She took all the evil inside her from the Fae King of the Northern Light’s son. Where else could she go, filled with all of Terithen’s dark magick? This is the only healing pool powerful enough to drain it.”
Gabriel watched the earth suck up the last of the topsoil. Cracks ripened in the ground and then the plastic bag began vanishing into the earth as well. Nothing was ever wasted in the gray lands. He rubbed his bearded chin, remembering Sienna with her long blonde hair, her sparkling green eyes and lilting laugh. She was tall, like other Elven, but with a hint of feminine curves.
“It’s been twenty-five years,” he murmured. “That long and I still have not forgotten anything about her. Her scent, the way the corners of her mouth lift when she smiles, the feel of her hair through my fingers when we made love…”
“Oh please. Spare me the sappiness. It hurts my ears.” Olin blinked hard and the Fae glamour vanished, showing his true appearance. Long pointed ears tipped with sharp, tooth-like spikes jutted out from either side of his knobby head, along with a long nose. He had red eyes as bright as stoplights. Olin smiled, showing rows of jagged, sharp teeth.
He blinked again and once more looked like an elderly man, interrupted from a nice nap.
“What will be your price for admission?” the goblin asked his boss.
Gabriel traced a protective rune on the boulder, more out of habit than necessity. “The Blood Moon festival is soon. I need a partner for the orgy. She will suffice quite nicely.”
Laughter rumbled from Olin’s barrel chest, a harsh sound as grating as an un-tuned violin. “You sly feline. You think she will agree?”
He thought of the last time Sienna Bennett had shared his bed. The Shadow Elf guarded the Fae King. What price had she paid when she returned to her people? He knew not, for he’d never heard from Sienna again, despite his letters. All these years he’d never forgotten the Elf who’d captured his heart.
“She will.” He gave a languid stretch.
“And if she does not?”
His expression darkened. “She will have no choice, Olin. Because she cannot return to her people without suffering greatly and I refuse to allow that to happen. Once she sets foot on my territory, I will protect her to my dying breath. We need her here as much as she needs us. We will be lovers once more. No matter what.”
Chapter 2
It had been a lovely day for a hike along one of Florida’s longest and prettiest rivers, until she confronted the viper.
Pit-like eyes focused on her like lasers. Black as the fire-darkened trees in the park, the seven-foot snake coiled, its jaws yawning open to display fangs within a stark white mouth.
Keeping a firm grip on her hiking stick, Sienna Bennett stood her ground. She didn’t want to kill the snake, but didn’t relish getting bitten. Surviving a bite from a poisonous Florida cottonmouth taxed an Elf’s strength at the best of times, and her strength was spent.
She didn’t know what agitated the reptile. She was far enough away to leave it undisturbed, snoozing in the sunshine. But this snake had slithered toward her, away from the brackish water and blocked her path as she’d hiked along the river.
Sienna backed off two paces, but it followed her. Alarmed, she hoisted the stick. The snake’s peculiar behavior meant it wanted to strike and kill.
Sienna twirled the staff in her hand and spoke quietly to the cottonmouth. “I don’t wish to hurt you. You’re a creature of the earth, and this is your home. I mean you no harm. Let me pass in peace.”
Rustling noises came from the riverbank. She darted a glance at the sound, and saw something move among the mangrove roots.
Her heart stopped.
Like giant fingers, the roots of the red mangrove were pulling themselves out of the water. A thin, eerie scream followed. Sienna winced and clapped a hand over her ears.
Before her, the cottonmouth stopped its aggressive posturing. It writhed and wriggled, as if in tremendous pain. To her shock, the snake began changing, growing thicker and larger, its olive dark skin turning paler, the tube-like form growing arms and legs…
A naked man lay on the ground, twisting and arching, his eyes filled with agony, his black hair spilling down to his chest. He stretched a hand out to her.
“Help me,” he whispered.
Instinctively, she went to heal his pain, and then remembered the darkness inside her. The evil magick possessing her would only increase the shifter’s pain. Sienna dropped her hand. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
Stomach knotting, she watched him writhe and squirm. The mangrove roots snapped out of the water and began whipping the shifter. Bloodied welts appeared on his body.
Sienna’s throat closed tight. She couldn’t heal him with her Fae magick, but neither could she idly watch him suffer. Taking her hiking stick, she thrashed the plant roots, beating them until they finally retreated.
The mangrove roots fell back into the water. Blackness spread up the roots, and the once green and yellow leaves turned black and withered, then crumbled into ash.
Not sparing time to consider the reason why, she dropped to her knees beside the snake shifter. Blood seeped from dozens of open cuts on his body. The man’s eyelids fluttered. He looked at her, anguish swimming in the dark depths of his eyes.
“Heal us, Elf. Before we all perish forever.”
And then he gasped, blood bubbling from his lips, and the light faded from his gaze.
Tears clogged her throat. Knowing her touch could not harm him now in death, Sienna gently closed his eyes. She could not leave his body here. She used her cell phone to take a photo of his body and recorded the GPS location. Sienna murmured a chant, and his body slowly disintegrated, vanishing into ash and then disappearing into the earth.
Standing, she wiped her streaming eyes. The shifter had a family somewhere. A mate, perhaps. Maybe little ones.
As she glanced at the dead mangrove an icy chill skated down her spine. Or perhaps they, too, were already dead. Something nasty was at work. What caused the tree to attack and then die?
Gripping her stick, she continued at a light jog, not slowing until she reached the parking lot where she’d left her rental car. Sienna tossed her pack and the stick onto the back seat, started up the car and drove south.
Days ago, she’d cleansed the earth in Oregon of the evil essence that had been the Fae King’s son. She had struck her sword deep into the earth and siphoned Terithen’s evil magick inside her like a vacuum sucking up dirt.
And now she was tainted and couldn’t save anyone, let alone the snake shifter. Drawing more evil magick inside her would triple her dark powers. Then perhaps not even the sacred spring of Danu could help her.
Darkness lived within her, a cloying blackness that suffocated everything good. On some mornings, it felt like black tar sluggishly covering her body. In time, it would smother her heart and make her as twisted and evil as Terithen himself. The evil inside her was like a cat waiting to pounce on helpless prey. Not a sweet domesticated tabby, but a large predator with sharp teeth and even sharper claws.
Gabriel Sanders.
His image flickered in her mind. Gabriel with his handsome face and rugged body hiding the panther within. He moved like a sleek, exotic big cat.
Especially in bed.
She’d made one mistake 25 years ago when she’d surrendered to his erotic touch and spent three glorious nights naked in his arms. And her king had punished her for it. She had lost favor among the Elven. The only saving grace was she constantly moved around, helping to vanquish evil. Sienna seldom remained in one place.
Never again. If she had sex this time, she’d be forever banished.
She no longer straddled the thin line between darkness and light. The dark magick Terithen possessed was too powerful for her to cleanse through her usual means of fasting and meditation. Only the sacred spring of Danu was powerful enough to eliminate the evil magick inside her. The spring was in a remote corner of the tangle of swamp and trees they called the Everglades.
Unfortunately, it was guarded by Gabriel, who protected the Everglades as fiercely as he protected his little clan of shifters. She could not access it without his permission.
It was late afternoon by the time she reached the tiny town of Orchid Beach on Florida’s southeast coast. This stretch of land, the last bastion of development before the Everglades began, had been nothing but empty farmland when she’d last visited.
After a few miles she spotted a large, elegant sign reading “Sanders’ Nursery.” Sienna pulled into the parking lot. Twenty-five years ago, t
he nursery had been a single greenhouse. Acres of farmland had been turned into rows of cultivated palm trees, orange and lime trees. The store was a monstrous concrete building with a juice stand outside, picnic tables and even a gazebo. Cars and trucks crowded the parking lot and she had to drive to the overflow lot.
He’d turned his little operation into a commercial enterprise.
The store was bustling with customers. She had to push her way past a crowd listening to a cooking demonstration of organic vegetarian stir fry. Onions, peppers, green beans and onions filled the air. Sienna’s stomach rumbled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since yesterday.
She made her way over to a sales clerk stocking purple orchids on a shelf next to a glass cooler holding bottled water and juice. “Can you tell me where I can find Gabriel Sanders?”
“Do you have an appointment?” The woman did not look up.
Sienna tapped a nail against the cooler. “I’m a friend.”
“Mr. Sanders is quite busy. You need to make an appointment.” The woman stepped down from the wooden ladder and faced her. Sienna caught the fragrance of wood smoke, peat moss and fresh herbs. A Fae, but not Elf like Sienna. This one was Fairy, judging from the delicate bone structure of her thin face, the huge ice blue eyes and her petite height. Her back appeared smooth, but Sienna knew that hidden within the knobby points of her shoulder blades were delicate, translucent wings that unfolded.
Sienna locked gazes with her. “Tell him I’m here. Now.”
“I most certainly will not.”
Enough of this. Sienna felt her fury surface, the darkness clawing at her to show this snotty bitch who was really in charge. Removing the stiletto from the leather sheath tucked into her belt, she held it to the Fairy’s throat.
“Here’s my appointment. Call Gabriel over or I’ll clip your wings. Permanently.”
The Fairy’s eyes widened. “Right away!”
The woman scurried off. Sienna’s hand trembled as she tucked the blade back into its sheath. She leaned against the cooler, relishing the coldness against her back, and took a minute to gather her lost composure. Silently she recited the chant Kendall had taught her long ago to balance her light magick against her dark side.
