by Ally Summers
She shook her head. “All this time we worked next to each other and you never knew, did you?”
“No.” I glared at her. “You hid your magic well.”
She grinned. “My cloaking has always been my best spell, but two years? Do you know how much effort that required? I covered my magic from you for two years. Every single day, Grayson. It took concentration and commitment. Dedicated focus. Unparalleled mastery of such a spell.”
“Well done.”
“Does my talent impress you?”
I inhaled. “It surprises me.”
“I’ll take that.” She twirled to face Sienna. “I have a new dilemma and I don’t know how to solve it. Maybe now that the dynast is here, he can lead me.” She said it with a nasty snarl.
Sienna attempted to raise her head. “Grayson?”
I rushed to her side, brushing past the witch. “God, baby. Are you ok?” My hands balled into fists. I wanted to rip Celia’s arms off.
“You two make me sick,” she spat.
Sienna’s head involuntarily snapped upward toward the ceiling and the tears streamed down her face.
“What are you doing to her?” I yelled.
Celia waved her fist in the air, causing more pain. There was a strangled sound coming from Sienna’s throat. I couldn’t bear it.
“Does this upset you? Does it bother you to see her pain?”
“Yes. Why are you hurting her? Take me instead, Celia. Stop this.”
She lowered her hand and Sienna hung lifelessly in the chair. At least she wasn’t suffering.
“I wouldn’t hurt you, Grayson.”
I glared at her. “But you are.”
“Do you know why you feel the pain? Do you know why you even care and the animal doesn’t take over and rule your every move? Because of me. Because of my coven. We are the reason you aren’t all animal. We are the reason you have any humanity. You owe me, Grayson. You owe me.”
I clenched my jaw, grinding my teeth. “That’s not the arrangement, and you know it. That is not the law in Promise Lake.”
She meandered through the room, making circles around the furniture. “Do you have any idea what it would be like to match your magic with its source? How empowering? How invigorating? How ultimately organic?”
I shook my head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. My magic is in my blood. In my genes.”
“I know exactly how to get to your magic.” Her lips turned upward into a smile.
“I don’t like what you’re implying. You aren’t my mate. You will never be my mate,” I growled.
“Speaking of that. We were in the middle of something before you arrived.” She picked up an ancient cup with carvings etched into the metal. “But changes can be made. First here and then I’ll whip up a little something for you. I need you to get her to drink this.”
“What is it?” I took the chalice.
“Your future.”
Sienna groaned, “Don’t.”
“Tell me what’s in here. Now.” My eyes bored into the woman who used to be my assistant. Someone I had trusted. Someone I thought was completely devoted to everything I did—I had misjudged why that devotion existed.
“Just a little elixir to help her forget this happened. And to make sure she never has magical offspring.”
“What?” I moved to throw the liquid on the floor, but Celia’s wicked grip clutched my bicep. I seized with the shock of pain.
“I wouldn’t do that. She needs to drink up.”
I held the cup in my hand. I didn’t want to feed this to Sienna. I had no idea if it would kill her.
“Give it to her now or my only other choice is to kill her.”
Celia stood on the other side of Sienna, watching my every move. She controlled us both with her magic.
I wiped a tear from Sienna’s cheek. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
There was a gleam of satisfaction in Celia’s eye. “Go on,” she urged. “Give it to her.” She leaned closer, anxious to see the liquid glide down Sienna’s throat. “It’s your best option, love.”
I was the dynast. I was her boss. There was no way in hell I was going to hurt my mate. Celia may hold powerful magic, but I was willing to defy it.
There was no time to think. Only act or my chance to end this would be gone. As I tilted the chalice toward Sienna, Celia leaned in. I shoved the chalice to Celia’s lips, forcing the brew into her mouth as she struggled against the force of my grasp on her shoulder. She spat and screamed. The blood red liquid ran down her chin and neck. It was almost black it was so dark. She gulped for air, swallowing part of her own mix.
“What have you done?” She fell to her knees, doubled over clutching her stomach.
She curled on her side, whimpering and panting. Whatever the elixir was, it was strong enough to torment her.
I bent to untie the ropes binding Sienna.
Celia grabbed her stomach, rolling forward as she tried to crawl toward me. “No. No. This can’t happen. Grayson.”
I scooped Sienna into my arms. “It must be the potion. It works on her too.”
I was still confused.
“She’s losing her magic,” she explained.
“How do you know?” I held her to me, reveling in the heat between us. I stopped in the doorway, watching Celia writhe on the floor.
“She told me it’s what the potion does. It makes a barrier against magic. It’s forcing the magic from her body. I think she’s turning human, Grayson.”
Sienna was right. I could see the power fading. The cloaking was no longer in place. I didn’t have to focus to keep the cabin in my sight. I wanted to put this nightmare behind us.
I shuddered. “Let’s go. I want to get you home.”
“I think I can walk.”
I shook my head. “I don’t care. I’m not letting you go.”
Twenty-Two
Sienna
I didn’t know hot water could feel so good. It cascaded over my shoulders and down my back. I stepped from the shower and wrapped a towel around my chest. I walked into the bedroom to get dressed. I stopped. Grayson was sitting on the bed.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” I answered. A soft smile fell on my lips.
“I wanted to make sure you were ok.”
“I am. I don’t think Celia will be flying around anytime soon.” It felt strange to joke about what had happened. There was nothing funny about Celia’s insane plan.
He rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t think I can let you out of my sight. It was hard enough letting you get in the shower.”
My heart fluttered involuntarily. “Grayson…”
“I know this isn’t what you want. And after what happened I know joining a world with magic in it is the last thing you want. But if you ever need me. If you ever need anything—”
I pushed a finger to his lips. “I do need something.”
“What? Anything,” he growled. “Anything.”
“I need your bear to claim me.”
His eyes lifted to mine. “Sienna,” he whispered.
I let the towel slip to the floor. “Last night was a disaster. I acted horribly. I was scared. But it didn’t mean I didn’t want you. It didn’t mean I didn’t want everything you promised. I just needed to process it.” I ran my hands through his hair. “And when I realized Celia wanted to make me immune to your magic. To keep me from getting pregnant by you…I-I..I knew she was trying to steal my future. Our future. I’m meant to carry your babies, Grayson. I know it in my soul. This is the life I want—your life.”
“Oh God,” he groaned. His fingers dug into my hips, pulling me toward him. His lips moved from kisses at my navel to my breast. He pulled my nipple into his mouth. He sucked the pink bud. “You sure?”
I nodded. “I’ve never been more sure. I want to be your mate. I want to evoke the bond. I want it all. You and your bear.” I smiled.
He grinned. “I would normally plan another dinner. Bring out the champagne and ma
ke a formal proposal …”
I pushed him back on the bed. “No more formalities.” I grinned. “Claim me now. Please.”
I awakened something in both of us with those words. The heat blistered our skin. I tugged and pulled until Grayson’s T-shirt was on the floor. I worked the belt on his jeans. His hands were all over me. When I finally freed his cock, I moaned at the sight of it. I wanted it so badly.
“You can wait until I have a taste of you,” he teased, flipping me on my back and spreading my legs in the air.
“Oh God.” I gripped the pillows over my head.
His tongue lapped between my folds. “This is my honey, Sienna.”
“Oh, yes.” I wiggled forward, wanting more.
He slid a finger and started pumping it in and out. “Oh, Grayson.”
“And this, is my sweet slice of heaven. Isn’t it?”
“Yes. It’s yours.”
My chest heaved with irregular breaths. The fire raged through me. He pushed his tongue inside me, sliding his fingers to my backside. I moaned with the intensity.
“I want you to feel good. So good, you’ll be so fucking turned on when I bite you.”
“Bite me?” I shot up from my drunken lust.
He pushed my knee wide. “Just a nip. I could do it here.” He kissed the skin along my thigh. I wiggled, anticipating the feel of teeth. “Or here.” He kissed the back of my calf, before rolling me over on my stomach. He inched forward. “Or here on this sweet ass of yours.” He drew a circle on my cheek with his tongue. I moaned. My body was his road map. He made roads and trails wherever he wanted. His teeth clamped against my neck. “Or here.”
I shivered. “Will it hurt?” I asked.
“I think you’ll love it. It binds us together. Forever.”
His hands coasted over my hips until they were between my legs. He pulled my knees apart.
“I like how it sounds,” I purred. I gasped when he flicked over my clit. “Forever.”
“You will be mine forever.”
I leaned into him. His fingers strummed with precision. My hands wrapped behind his neck, pulling his lips to my ear. I rocked into him. His fingers sank deep inside me. His chest rubbed against my back. He was like a solid plank of marble. Every bit of him carved to perfection. Chiseled and defined.
“Ohh,” I cried. “I can’t stop it.”
“Don’t,” he growled. “Come on my fingers. Let me hold you. Don’t stop, Sienna.”
His fingers pumped in and out of me while my hips moved dramatically. He pushed off the bed with one hand, hovering over my body. From the corner of my eye I saw his fangs lengthen. The fear clutched at me just as the orgasm spilled through me. It wracked my body in violent jolts.
Grayson reared back. My knees pushed into the bed. I felt the softness of his finger trace an X on my backside. The points glistened before his fangs pierced my skin and bit into the flesh of my cheek. I bucked into his hand, clutching at his fingers as the orgasm coursed through me while his fangs pushed deeper inside me.
The bliss ran through me. I felt soothed and aroused. My body hummed with a new kind of energy. I’d never experienced so much rapture. From the puncture mark to my head I could feel it coursing and running through my veins. He filled me. Moved me. Gifted me with our bond.
As the orgasm evaporated, he slowly retracted his fangs and his fingers at the same time.
He moved over my body, pulling me onto my knees. He fastened my hands to the headboard. I swallowed hard. I already felt so loved and sated. I couldn’t believe there was more to being a mate. More to what we could share.
“I’ve wanted to be inside you,” he growled.
“Please,” I begged. “Please.” I wiggled backward.
“You’re so wet. So ready. So ready to be mine.”
“Yes.” I breathed. “Take me, Grayson.”
I felt the tip of his cock nudge against my entrance. He was wide and hard. I gripped the bed just as he sliced into me.
“Oh, fuck,” he growled. He thrust with power and control, taking me to a place I’d never been.
“Ohh.” My breasts bounced at the impact.
I couldn’t see. I couldn’t find up or down. The world was spinning as he pumped in and out of me. I held on.
“You’re meant only for me. Meant for me to give you this. You’re mine, Sienna. Say it. Say it.”
“Oh yes, I’m yours.”
He gripped my hips. I pushed into him. The pressure was so intense. So blinding. I panted and whimpered. I loved it. I loved him.
I was so close to another roller coaster of orgasmic fireworks when I heard the roar shatter over my ears. Grayson slammed into me as his essence filled me, soaking me, drowning my core in his magic.
I’d never experienced sex like this. I’d never dreamed it was possible to connect with someone under their skin. To feel as if we were one person. To feel such pain and pleasure mixed so deeply and tangled in silken threads of desire.
Grayson kissed my spine. “I love you, Sienna. Forever.”
I smiled, letting him cocoon me in his arms.
“I love you too.”
His hand rounded over the indentation on my ass where his fangs had pierced me. “Are you ok?” he asked.
I nodded. “More than ok. I’m yours.” I loved the mark he had made.
He nuzzled against my neck. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you. Or our cubs.”
“I know.” Our hands moved to the softness of my belly. “I want to give you a family. And when there was a chance that could be taken away from us…” I choked.
“Hey, it didn’t happen.” He turned my chin so that his lips were on mine.
I moaned with the kiss. “I’m so glad I got that job.” My eyes fluttered open and I smiled at him.
He laughed. “Remind me not to kick my brother’s ass when he gets home.” His hands coasted over my hips.
The warmth spread through my muscles. I felt different. Stronger. More alive.
I touched the bite mark, but it was almost healed.
I looked at Grayson. “How is that possible? I thought I’d have the mark for a while.”
“My magic is inside you. You heal quickly because of it. It will fade.”
“I like your magic inside me.” I felt the stickiness ooze between my legs with sadness. I wanted more. His essence was everything.
“Then I can’t disappoint my mate,” he growled, rolling me on my back.
I looked up into his dark eyes and welcomed him into my body over and over until we were exhausted and the only thing left to do was sleep.
Twenty-Three
Grayson
I paced in front of the desk. “No. No. No. That’s not going to work and you know it.” I had been on the phone with Benjamin for thirty minutes. “Find another way to secure the portfolio.”
The door opened and Sienna poked her head inside.
I waved for her to come in. She was wearing one of my shirts. She took my breath away. She was the sexiest, most stunning woman I’d ever seen.
“Benjamin, I need to go. Can you handle this and call me back when you have answers?”
I didn’t give him a chance to respond. I hung up to face my mate.
“Do you usually work on Sundays?” she asked.
I growled, pulling her waist to me. “Hazards of running a global company.”
“Are there any other hazards I should know about?” she teased.
I pushed the collar off her shoulder and kissed her bare skin. “I think you know exactly what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
She nodded. “Completely.”
The shirt fell open as she unbuttoned each button. I growled at the sight of her voluptuous breasts. My hands cupped them, squeezing and massaging them.
“I came in here to ask if you wanted breakfast,” she whispered. “I was going to make pancakes.”
I lifted her onto my desk. “I do want breakfast.” I pushed her back, raking the panties off her thighs.
/> “Oh God,” she moaned as my head dove between her thighs.
I could never get enough of her. Of this. The taste of her on my tongue. The way she quivered under my command. How her body was always ready for me. Wanting the connection as much as I did. I licked at her juices, savoring the sweetness of her perfect body. My tongue darted in and out of her. I was frenzied to have more. To devour her. I sucked her clit, toying with the nub until I felt the twitch against my mouth.
“Yes, baby,” I coaxed.
Her hips moved in a circular motion. Her hair splayed across my desk while her hands pinched and twisted her nipples. She had to be a fucking goddess. My fucking goddess.
I pushed my tongue inside her, drawing the power of the orgasm to the surface.
She screamed my name and I growled with satisfaction.
Her body calmed and I looked at her, licking my lips with the taste of her.
“You’re perfect, Sienna.”
Her eyes were hooded with lust. “This is perfect.”
I let my pants drop to the floor, and pulled her hips to the edge of the desk. She hooked her ankles around my waist.
I pressed my cock to her heated center. It was heaven being inside her. Pure nirvana. I thrust hard, possessing her with my strength and love.
She arched her back off the desk as I claimed the body I worshipped. I surged inside her, before pulling out again.
She whimpered. “Please, don’t stop.”
I grinned wickedly. “I’d never stop with just that.”
I pushed inside her again. We both groaned with the intensity. Her ankles dug into my backside. And I lost it. I rode her wildly, pumping in and out. Our bodies climbed a ladder, racing to the top before we both lost our balance and fell into a pit of shattering sensual bursts. I spilled my essence inside her. Filling her. Coating her with magic. Planting my seed deep.
I leaned forward, brushing my lips over hers while my cock vibrated with aftershocks.
“Please tell me we don’t have to go back to the city today.” Her hands caressed the back of my neck.
I blinked. “And not go to work? On a Monday? I have meetings on Mondays. And without Jackson my work has doubled.”
