by Bonnie Vanak
The shower door opened. Gabriel stood there, fully nude. His penis swung gently between his thighs. His big body tensed as he stepped inside.
“What’s wrong? Talk to me.”
She shook her head, bracing a hand against the wall as the spray streamed upon her. If she said a single word, she’d break.
“Sienna. Talk to me. I’m not leaving until you do.”
Tipping her head upward to let the water hit her face, Sienna closed her eyes.
And then heard the door creak close, the soft pad of his footsteps and a deep sigh. Two arms encased her around the waist from behind, as he rested his chin upon her shoulder. Gabriel cradled his groin against her bottom.
“My beautiful Elf, please don’t shut me out. Was it what my men did to you?”
She shook her head.
“Making love with me?”
Another head shake.
“You wanted a shower all the sudden because you don’t like getting sweaty and you’re one of those Elven who is horrified at the idea of perspiring?”
A small smile touched her mouth. She shook her head.
“Ah, I got it. You wanted to shower because you’re secretly hoping I’d wash your back. And your front.” Gabriel reached for the washcloth, soaped it and gently ran it over her breasts.
Trembling, Sienna sagged against him.
“I’m okay.”
“No sense in wasting water. Bad for the environment.”
He ran his tongue across her neck and she shuddered, the need for him suddenly very, very bad. And it was bad because he had an intoxicating effect on her, making her forget sense and reason.
“It’s just overwhelming. Everything I feel inside. Everything I feel for you. And it hurts to know I’ll have no future here,” she whispered, moaning as he kissed a line down her throat.
“Don’t be so certain. But for now, don’t think of the future. Live for the night, the Blood Moon, when all in my clan sheds inhibition and we celebrate life. You give so much life to others. It’s time you finally attended to your own needs.” Gabriel smoothed back her wet hair.
She faced him and tracked the bulge and flex of biceps, the wideness of his shoulders held in her firm grip. He had the hard body and sleek muscles of a big cat. Intense longing shivered through her. They had just had sex, and arousal pulsed through her all over again.
Rubbing a spot on his chest, toying with the dark hairs, she traced a line down his muscled torso. “Have you had many lovers since I last saw you?”
The question had haunted her at night, tormenting her with visions of other women enjoying his exquisite devotion, moaning with pleasure as he caressed them.
Gabriel clasped her chin and raised her head to meet his fierce gaze. “Not many. I did, after you first left, trying to forget you. Didn’t work. It was like eating tofu when you’ve sampled steak — stale and unremarkable. So I resorted to using my fist, imagining my cock was deep inside you, your sweet mouth on mine. That way I could fantasize about you without involving anyone else.”
He slid a hand down and gripped his penis. “It brought me a little relief, made the nights more bearable.”
She rested her hand atop his, cupped his heavy testicles. Gabriel threw back his head and groaned. “Gods, my imagination isn’t that great. Not compared to the real you. Tell me you want me again, Sienna. Please. If I have you for one night, maybe it will make the nights my arms are empty less lonely.”
“I want you.” Yes, she cried out inside. I don’t care what happens to me. I want this. I want you.
“No regrets?”
“Just one.” She cupped his smooth cheek, stroking her fingers over his warm skin. “I regret not doing this sooner because you’re right. I need to live for the night.”
A crooked grin spread over his face. He kissed her again, his lips warm and firm against hers. His tongue slid into her mouth, stroking and caressing. Gabriel’s kisses felt possessive and intense. He kissed her as if she were the last female on earth and he was desperate to get inside her.
Sienna closed her eyes as she slid her arms around his neck. Pretend like he did all those years. Pretend there can be a future with him, that you’re not here for the night, but inside your bedroom, with children you conceived fast asleep down the hall. Pretend you won’t leave him tomorrow or the day after.
As he kissed her, his hand cupped her left breast. Then his thumb drifted lazily over the tightening nipple. Sienna gasped as sharp, delicious pleasure speared her. His hips rocked gently, his rock hard erection pressing against her, indicating his need. He wanted her all over again.
She reached down and grabbed his dick. “Goodness, how do you do that? Already?”
Gabriel grinned. “All I do is think of you, Sienna, and I’m instantly hard. I could make love to you all day long and never stop.”
Then he looked solemn. “It’s not sex. It’s something deeper, touching me here.” He brought her hand to his chest. “I may have taken your virginity, but you took my heart.”
His honesty shattered her barriers. Sienna stared up at him, all her defenses dropping. “I wish we could stay here forever, shutting away the world. Love me, Gabriel. Create the illusion that this will never end and we could always stay together.”
“It’s no illusion, sweetheart. Not if you want it enough.”
Gabriel kissed her again, his mouth moving against hers with arrogant authority. He sucked on her bottom lip, released it with a faint popping sound. Between tiny, biting kisses, he whispered into her mouth.
“You’re so damn hot. You turn me inside out. Give me everything you have, Sienna. Don’t be afraid to lose control.”
Never had she handed over her tightly-held control to anyone. She bit her trembling lips. “I think…”
He laid a finger over her mouth. “Don’t think. Feel. Just breathe and trust me. Fall into passion with me, Sienna and let me catch you. I’ve waited for you so long.”
A shaky hiss of breath escaped her lungs.
Then he reached for the bar of soap, and began to wash her.
Symbolic and soothing, his actions roused her desire as he slid the soap over her arms, the slope of her neck. Droplets clung to his hair, sparkled in his long, dark lashes. Water cascaded down his strong, muscled neck, beaded in his chest hair.
He looked so beautiful and sexy, it took her breath away.
His heated gaze remained affixed to hers as he stroked the soap over her wet skin. Gabriel brushed kisses alongside her jaw. His hands cupped the rounded curve of her hips, pulling her tight against him.
“Turn around,” he said, his voice thick.
Sienna closed her eyes as he stood behind her, lathering her breasts, gently teasing the hardened nipples with gentle strokes of his thumbs. As he massaged her, he molded his body against hers, his erection rubbing against her bottom. Each languid stroke aroused her senses, making her forget everything but the sensual slide of his hands against her skin.
Gabriel washed away her regrets and her worries, replacing them with heightened desire.
“You’re so damn beautiful,” he whispered. Taking the lobe of her ear between his teeth, he gently bit.
She moaned as he turned her around. A soft white glow pulsed from her body and enveloped them both. Tendrils of pure white light swirled in the shower, charged by the sexual energy they created.
His mouth went from her ear to her throat, nuzzling down to her bare collarbone. He suckled her breasts, his tongue flicking over each crested peak. Sienna sagged against him, pushing her hot skin against his questing mouth. Sensation speared her, so fresh and tantalizing, it was as if she were a virgin again. An Elf who had never experienced desire or the tender touch of a lover’s strong, skilled hands.
Gabriel’s hands stroked a line down her torso. He slid the soap over her belly, then dipped a finger into her navel. Then he went behind her and dropped to his knees. Gabriel squeezed her bottom and stared up at her.
“Man, I love your sweet little a
ss. I’ve dreamed about this. Bend over, pixie.”
When she did, he spread her cheeks wide and stroked the soap between them. Gabriel washed her as her passage grew ready for him. Then she felt the delicious roughness of his tongue delve between her ass cheeks.
A nearly unbearable ache filled her lower belly as he kissed and licked, all the while stroking her clit. Water streamed down her body, mingling with her natural moisture. Sienna splayed her hands against the tile as he stood and grasped her hips.
“I’m going to make love to you,” he rasped. “Send you over the edge until you can’t take it anymore. And then I’m going to start all over.”
She felt the insistent push of his cock nudge at her slick folds, and then push slightly inside her. He entered her slowly, stretching and penetrating her deeply, and deeper still. Sienna made a little pleading cry as he sank inside her to the hilt and remained still, his fingers gripping her hips.
“Gabriel, please hurry,” she whispered.
“Not until I say what I must.”
Gabriel bent over her, his body firmly lodged inside hers, the crisp hair on his hair against her back. He flung aside her wet hair as the water pattered upon them, and kissed her nape.
“Sienna, you think no one cares about you. I care. I care enough to keep you here for a lifetime.” His voice dropped to a husky whisper. “All I can think about is getting inside you, keeping you in my bed for good.”
“I just want this moment, with you, to last forever. I wish it could.”
Slowly he withdrew, and then thrust back inside. She reached back, felt his hand, felt their fingers entwine and then release. With a groan, he began to surge heavily into her, teasing her clit with his finger. Her breasts swayed as his flesh slapped against hers, nearly suffocating her with pleasure. Gabriel murmured praises of her body, how sweet and tight she felt, how beautiful she was. Each stroke raised her higher until the pressure built in her loins.
“Now,” he cried out as she squeezed him tight, “Come with me!”
Crying out, she surged and soared upwards as the orgasm crested over her, feeling him pump deep inside her.
In sated exhaustion, she sagged against the wall as he slowly withdrew. Sienna turned around to see the husky glint of satisfaction in his gaze. Then Gabriel reached past her, turned the knob to shut off the shower.
She caressed his smooth cheek. He had the grace and strength of his beast, but made love with such tenderness, her heart ached.
If only they could remain like this forever. But she would take the night, and all it had to offer.
They returned to the glen. Sounds of lovemaking surrounded them, blending with the chirping of tree frogs. Male grunts and high, excited female cries sang through the air. Gabriel steered her toward the blanket and dropped down, pulling her atop him.
For several moments they rested on the blanket. And then nearby, a kissing couple dropped to the ground nearby, illuminated by the light of the full moon. Two more males joined them. Sienna raised her head and saw the two males suckling on the woman’s breasts as her partner spread her legs wide. Sienna caught a glimpse of the shifter’s thick, gleaming cock as he positioned it at the woman’s sex. Then he drove deep inside her and she moaned.
Sienna’s own sex pulsed at the sight. Gabriel cupped the back of her head and kissed her. Straddling him, she kissed him back, then placed his hands on her breasts. He caressed and stroked and then in a swift move, tumbled her back to the blanket and flipped her onto her stomach.
“Get on your hands and knees. I’m going to take you as a panther takes his mate.”
As he kissed his way down her backside, delivering tiny stinging nips he soothed with his tongue, Sienna lost herself. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t form a single coherent thought. The feel of his strong body sliding over her backside, his cock prodding at her swollen, soaked folds, tore away all reason.
Elven, she was Elven. Was she? Did it matter?
A soft growl rumbled deep in his throat as he seized her hips. Using her arousal as lubricant, he slipped his penis between her folds in long, teasing strokes. Long blonde hair curtaining her face, she threw back her head and hissed. “Stop teasing me. Do it!”
“As you wish,” he murmured and pushed inside her.
The exquisite feel of him taking her this way, feeling vulnerable and out of control, rushed through her like liquid heat. Her body began to glow pure white. Gabriel pressed his mouth to the nape of her neck. “You and me, pixie. We do this, we create good magick.”
“I missed you.” She gasped as he withdrew and then slid back inside in a teasing stroke.
“It doesn’t matter to me that you’re an Elf and I’m a shifter. Soon as I saw you, heard your voice, scented your sweetness, I knew I had to have you as my mate.”
“That was your intent all along,” she realized aloud.
“It was my dream. All these years, you’ve haunted my thoughts. You slid into my spirit when we made love and nestled into my heart with your little kitten claws and never let go.”
“Kitten claws?” she asked, amused, and then gasped as he pounded hard into her. Gabriel twisted his hips, the move making her want to claw at him. Beg him to do it again. She felt his barb touch her G-spot and threw her head back.
“Like that, pixie? Want more?” His gaze darkened as he pulled out, drove deep inside, his barb sliding against her vaginal walls, creating erotic pleasure. Gods she was so turned on, her body tight as her bowstring. She needed this, wanted to come so badly she pumped her ass backward to meet his urgent thrusts.
“Shut up and fuck me,” she demanded.
Gabriel squeezed her hips and pulled away. He gave her ass a hard slap, chuckling as she squealed from the pleasure-pain.
“Naughty pixie. No patience. I’ll give you what you need.” Gabriel kissed the curve of her spine. And then he gave her exactly what she needed, driving harder and harder until her screams and his hoarse shouts filled the night air. Just as he promised, their cries of pleasure soaring to the heavens, honoring the goddess as the moon smiled down upon them. When they climaxed together, Gabriel snarled and bit the back of her neck and she came again.
After, they rested and dozed, and woke up to make love twice more before falling asleep beneath the moon’s silvery caress.
When she woke again, the moon was fading in the sky and dawn broke over the leaden sky. Gooseflesh sprang out on her arms. Sienna rubbed her hands. Something was wrong. The air felt heavy and oppressive, like a thunderstorm threatened, but with a metallic taste of death.
She shook Gabriel. “Wake up.”
Yawning, he sat up, rubbing his eyes. He grinned, but his grin suddenly dropped. Suddenly he sprang to his feet and reached for his jeans.
“Get dressed. Hurry.”
Not stopping to question him, she dressed in the skirt and blouse. Bare-chested and bare-foot, Gabriel raced through the glen on the pathway leading to the Everglades.
Her heart banged hard in her chest as the air grew thicker and the stench clogged her nostrils. Oh please, she said silently. Please let me be wrong.
But she knew this smell, knew her instincts were correct.
A warm breeze blew from the south as they reached the swamp’s edge. Gabriel ground to a halt, staring at the moonlit water. Despair etched his expression.
A dead heron lay half in the water, its neck upon the shore. Two moor hens bobbed in the sullen waters.
They were dead.
A lump clogged her throat as she dropped to her knees, staring at the blackened waters, the oily slickness polluting the once-pristine swamp. Far as her eye could see.
The toxic dark was now killing wildlife, not just Others.
“It’s spread. All my magick couldn’t ward the Everglades against the toxic dark or against it shifting into something more deadly.” Gabriel turned to her, torment twisting his mouth. “It’s spreading and nothing will stop it, until every single living creature in the swamp is gone.”
Chapt
er 10
Rose and lavender streaked the sky as the sun rose, but Sienna found no joy in the beauty of the sunrise. Sunlight revealed only that the destruction was far worse than she’d imagined.
They must stop this madness. It was beyond her powers and beyond his. “Call on the Crimson Wizard,” she told him. “There is no shame in asking for help.”
Gabriel shook his head. “I am ruled by Tristan, the Silver Wizard.”
“Then ask him for help. We must find a way to eradicate this before it kills more wildlife, and then infiltrates the ground water. Skins will die. This is bigger than us, bigger than anything.”
Clenching his fists, he nodded. Gabriel closed his eyes, raised his arms and murmured a chant.
There was a flash of brilliant white light. A handsome, dark-haired man appeared before them. The tips of his shoulder-length hair were silver. He did not look at them, but gazed out at the swamp.
“About time you asked for my assistance, you stubborn panther.”
“Tristan.”
The wizard turned, and a cold shiver raced down Sienna’s spine. Power, so much power emanated from him, as if she’d put her hand near a live electrical wire. He was as omnipotent as Gideon, the Crimson Wizard and ruler of the Glythen, the Fae.
“Ah, Sienna, the king’s Shadow Guard.” The wizard’s mouth quirked upward. “Dare I say that you have been dipping into uncharted waters, Gabriel? No, I stand corrected. Waters charted twenty-five years ago.”
“This isn’t about my sex life, dammit!”
“Gabriel,” she warned, growing nervous as the wizard’s eyes glowed ice blue. “Take it easy.”
“I’ll take it easy when he stops screwing around with my personal life and does something about this.” He gestured to the oily rainbow colors swirling on the water, glistening the sun’s dawning rays. “Stop this, Tristan.”
His expression haunted, Gabriel dropped his arms. “Please. I can’t bear watching this land I love turn into wasteland, killing everything.”
The wizard’s gaze sharpened. “You have the power, Gabriel.”
Gabriel gave a bitter laugh. “Right. My warding didn’t prevent this.”
