by Vivian Arend
Matt opened his mouth to protest. To inform the clan of the change in the living arrangements—details like they would only need one sleeping room—when he found his mouth suddenly full…of tongue? Damn it all. He peeled the clinging woman off him as quickly and yet as carefully as he could, concerned Laurin would be upset over him being kissed by another female.
He needn’t have worried. She couldn’t see a thing, wrapped in a huge bear hug and being thoroughly kissed by Willam. Matt fought off other women’s hands as he waited impatiently for Laurin to break free.
It seemed to take an extraordinarily long time.
She was rosy-cheeked when finally released, sucking for air as she touched the back of her hand to her mouth. Matt reached for her even as she strong-armed off the next man waiting his turn. She slipped to Matt’s side, and he scrambled to speak the words needed to fix the situation.
Laurin beat him to it.
One arm flung around his shoulder, her body pressed intimately to his, she surveyed the crowd gathering before them, the gentle rise and fall of the ship continuing beneath their feet.
“We would like the cabin at the top of the rise. I enjoyed that location the last time I stayed with you.” Her voice rang out strong, imperial. She slipped farther into his arms, somehow tugging his hand across her torso, cupping his palm intimately around her breast. He fought to control his body’s instant response, but it was impossible. Especially when she lowered her lashes and glanced up at him flirtatiously. “We need a large enough bed. And it had better be sturdy.”
Matt groaned as she slid her hand around his neck and sealed their mouths together. The contact was aggressive, intense. Far more intimate than the kiss the otter woman had stolen a moment before. When Laurin dragged her fingernails down his chest and nicked his nipple, his cock jerked, pressing against her belly. She moaned with approval, grinding their bodies together, making him hard as a rock.
The cool sensation he’d come to associate with her ability to enhance his skills wrapped around them both. He felt a sudden tug and from nowhere, his magic flared. Power poured forth, blazing with a frightening intensity. He stretched out his mental and spiritual hands to contain the outburst. He stretched out his literal hands to take control of Laurin and separate them. He gazed down at her dark eyes to see them filled with lust, and a fair bit of amusement.
Around them the usually rambunctious otter clan had fallen silent, everyone staring with astonishment. One by one, they lowered their gazes, respect apparent in their posture.
Even Willam paused. He nodded slowly, an inscrutable expression on his face. The staccato sound of his clap rang out again. “Arrange it as teacher has requested.”
There were a few final glances of astonishment cast in their direction before a dozen of the clan hurried to follow their leader’s orders.
Willam bowed low. “You honor us greatly. I trust your time with us will be…fruitful.”
Matt bowed in return, wondering what exactly was going through the man’s mind. Matt prepared to use his powers to check, but before he could, Willam disappeared, vanishing into the mass of clan members still surrounding them.
The crowds flowed around them, whispered words of respect echoing as they passed. Matt waited until they were relatively alone before tugging Laurin to face him. He couldn’t be upset—it had been one solution, although not the one he would have selected himself.
“Why didn’t you simply let me tell them we were together?”
She raised a brow. “By the time we’d have gotten a word in edgewise you’d have had to kiss your way through ninety percent of the clan. No way am I accepting other people’s leftovers.”
He snorted. She had visited this clan before.
She turned and led the way up the path, her hips shimmying in a way that heated his blood. He got lost staring at her butt, imagining all the things he could do to that firm ass when she paused and turned back, hands resting on her hips. She jutted out her chin, and something inside him melted a bit more. He had teased that the Stormchild was strong and beautiful, but his ship had nothing on his lover with her temper in full sail.
There was a challenge written on her face and in her eyes. “Besides, sometimes a little honest physical threat goes a long way.”
Chapter Four
Laurin gave a groan as she straightened up from where she’d been hunched over her computer keyboard, leaning her head to the side to stretch the tight muscles of her neck. She’d been staring at the computer monitor for three hours straight, finishing the next set of lesson plans to distribute to her students who were scattered across the Pacific Inside Passage. They’d spent two weeks with the otter clan so far, and tonight it was time to put aside the work and take a breather.
Warm hands landed on her shoulders, brushing her hair aside, and she smiled. As Matt’s lips touched her neck she reached up to stroke his fingers gently. “Hey. You finally escaped.”
“I swear there are four times as many clan members as last time. I don’t remember general clinic hours taking this long before. Ever.”
She swung her chair around to face him. It was after eight p.m., and he’d been at the clinic since seven in the morning. There were crease marks at the side of his eyes from his exhaustion, and she wanted to wrap him up and soothe him. She’d been working all day as well, but teaching had its own built-in breaks. Building sandcastles with the elementary students to demonstrate different kinds of tactile strength was more amusing than physically taxing.
Matt held out his hand and she went into his arms willingly. They snuggled close, Matt burying his face against her neck and breathing deeply. “I don’t know what I want more. Food, sleep or you.”
She laughed. “Why don’t we do all three, in that order?” She tugged him toward the door. “Come on, I’ve got our evening planned.”
It had taken a few days to figure out who to bully to get things accomplished around camp. It took a special kind of bartering and bossing to not become overwhelmed by water shifters in the first place. The otters had no sense of ownership and few boundary lines. Her trunk full of clothing was finally off limits only because she’d laid down the law and had Matt loan her an enhanced lock.
They took the “share and share alike” motto a touch too far in this community. Especially when it came to Matt. She glanced at him briefly, not even trying to deny the proprietary feelings she experienced.
Laurin led Matt by the hand toward the beach, swinging past the communal kitchen and grabbing the basket she’d prepared earlier. It felt heavy enough, but she took a quick peek to ensure no one had absconded with any of their picnic supplies.
Matt took the basket from her, linking his fingers through hers. “You have been busy.”
“I figured you’d have another late night. I used it to my advantage. You’re free until noon tomorrow, right?”
“Unless there’s an emergency, but things seem quiet.”
“I’m done as well. The night is ours.”
They exchanged smiles before she led him down the path. Time had been passing in a blur with both of them working like crazy. The relationship seemed to have helped them both settle quickly into the community in some ways—although there were tough moments. If she was honest? She missed the intimacy of being alone with him on the Stormchild.
They walked in silence, the soothing repetition of the ocean washing the shoreline their only background music. Even though it was late, this far to the north the sun still hung above the horizon. It was more than hour away from disappearing into the waters of the Pacific Ocean that filled the Bella Coola inlet. Matt’s soft chuckle broke the silence as they mounted the ridge and the cabana she’d had set up came into sight. The bright color of the fabric shone against the bleached white of the sand and the neutral tones of the rocky shoreline behind it.
“Laurin, you are a miracle worker.”
“Wait until you see inside.”
He dropped her fingers and ran, all his earlier tiredness see
ming to disappear. She chased him, her laughter bursting out. Every step they’d taken away from the settlement had felt as if they’d cut restraining ropes. She’d never realized how much energy it took to live up to others’ expectations—or others’ expectations of who she didn’t feel she truly was.
Matt pressed aside the fabric door and turned to face her. “Did I say miracle worker? I meant a magician. It’s gorgeous. Oh my God, there’s a bed.” He dropped the basket on the small table at the back of the cabana before falling face first onto the mattress.
Laurin tossed herself beside him, brushing his hair back from his face. “You want to nap first? Or eat?”
He rolled, snatching her up to drape her limbs over his body. “Talk. Then sex. Then eat, then sex.”
A yawn escaped him and Laurin giggled. “Or we could start with a nap.”
He shook his head. “I had no idea this stop at Bella Coola was going to be this insane. How have your students been doing?”
Laurin folded her arms on top of his chest and positioned herself more comfortably so she could look him in the eye as they spoke. “The teaching part is going great. Being partners with the shaman? I’ve never had so many questions I couldn’t answer before. It’s like they think since I’m with you, I know everything you know as well.”
Concern etched his face. “Is it causing troubles? That’s an issue I’d never imagined arising.”
“It’s not bad—if anything it’s been humbling to realize there is so much I don’t have the answers for.”
He stroked a knuckle along her cheek tenderly. “If you need me to drop in or speak to anyone, you let me know.”
Laurin resisted voicing the evil thought that flashed through her mind. She could imagine what the women of the community would think about that—him leaving his busy practice to help her with the children. They already thought she’d somehow managed to snatch up the moon. She’d be considered a true goddess to have the shaman at her beck and call.
She’d never been the type to gloat, but then she’d never had someone like Matt in her life before either.
“There’s one question you can answer for me. What’s your clan?”
He paused. “I don’t have one. I’m shaman, and—”
“I know, you’re a part of them all. I meant, where is your mother from?”
A huge sigh escaped him. “One of the dolphin clans from the far north. We’re not really close.”
Laurin leaned up to drop a quick kiss on his lips. “Sorry, didn’t mean to pry.”
“No, no. It’s okay. I need to go visit her again sometime. It was easier to avoid going back than to deal with how I feel about the whole child-of-the-shaman issue. Silly, really. I’m too old for those kind of avoidance games.”
She laid her head back on his chest and tried to send soothing thoughts. Family. Even when everyone got along, dealing with them could take a toll. Laurin changed the topic as best she could. “What’s happening in terms of you and your clinic? Are you nearly at the end of the rush?”
He nodded, his eyes closing as he continued to stroke her body and play with her hair. “And I have to say thank you—there are a whole lot less random females popping in to ask for full physicals in the hopes I’ll take one look at their naked body and be unable to resist ravishing them right there on the examining table.”
“Glad that my presence in your life is working as a decoy.”
Laughter rang out, his face bright even as his eyes remained closed. “You minx. You know damn well it’s not simply your presence. The fact you stood up in the communal kitchen the second day we were here and announced you’d skin any one who poached on your territory has a lot more to do with my lack of annoyances than simply your pretty smile.”
Shit. A flush of embarrassment hit. She really had no idea what had come over her that day. “You heard about that? You hadn’t said anything, so I thought…”
His body shook under her as he laughed. “I heard. In fact, I had to offer the same kind of threat at the bonfire after you left that night. The men were all so impressed with your grit and figured you must be some kind of hellion in bed.”
A warm curl of excitement lit in her belly. He opened his eyes and she fell into the blue depths. “I can be a hellion, with the right person.”
Somehow they maintained that eye contact as their clothing disappeared. Warm naked flesh covered her, wet kisses and long shiver-inducing brushes of his fingers followed. They moved easily together on the bed, giving and receiving pleasure. Soft sighs and little gasps for air escaped her throat, and she didn’t even once try to send a dirty image into his mind. Everything she wanted to experience was right there, everything she needed to fly over the moon already at her fingertips.
A warm breeze fluttered the curtains of the cabana, and Matt stopped his exploration of her body to slide open the fabric on the ocean side. The setting sun had turned the sky to brilliant orange and pink, bands of radiant light streaking across the bed and shimmering over their skin. She pulled him back to her side, reveling in his touch, the caress of his tongue drawing lazy designs down her belly. The intimate stroke of his fingers, the rapid beat of his heart as he brought them together, and they joined. Fullness, heat, and over it all, the tenderness pouring out from his soul.
She wiggled, trying to escape. It was too quick, and she wanted to give to him first. Pleasure shot through her as he leaned in harder, his body pinning her to the bed and holding her trapped.
“Please, I want to—”
“No. This time I give to you.” He kissed her cheek, his eyelashes fluttering against hers like a butterfly and she relaxed back.
How could she resist his touch? Each caress brought her higher and higher. Drove the pleasure in her core outward like the streaks of color highlighting their bodies. They lay in a pool of fading sunlight, sparks of stars bursting through the haze of darkness appearing at the edge of the visible sky. Her nipples throbbed in time with her sex, both heavy with anticipation as Matt caressed and primed her until there was nowhere to go but deep into pleasure. Rolling waves of it that crashed far louder than the ocean that surged meters away from them.
“Matt, oh God, yes.”
She clutched his shoulders, clinging tight to him as he merged them again and again. The intensity of her orgasm made her vision grow dark, her body squeezing and clasping so hard she felt completely out of control. Laurin gasped for air, striving to stay alert, needing to ensure his release as well.
The sound of shattering rock from the nearby cliff echoed around them the same moment Matt stiffened, his body held rigid over hers. He pumped his hips in tiny pulses, as if trying to dig even deeper into her core. His whispered words were too quiet to hear, but his eyes spoke volumes.
Laurin tugged him on top of her, his body weight crushing her to the mattress for a moment before he rolled them to the side, still connected. They lay there for a long time, touching, staring. Kissing slowly then pulling back to stare again.
The connection between them might be somehow mystical, but Laurin had a sneaky suspicion that there was the possibility for more. First she had to decide if she could allow herself to fall in love with a shaman of the People of the Sea.
Laurin dropped a kiss against his chest before yawning and forcing herself to crawl out from under the covers. Even the best of getaways had to come to an end, and their time was rapidly approaching. The supper picnic had been consumed at midnight after they’d waded and washed in the ocean. They’d talked and laughed and spent the rest of the night waking each other and tangling the sheets until she felt totally used and achy in all the right spots this morning.
They had time for a quiet breakfast and not much else before they had to leave.
She stood and stretched, turning to sneak a little secret ogling of his naked body into her morning. Instead it was his gaze fixed on her that caught her, a worried frown marring his forehead.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something in my teet
h?”
Matt sighed. “No, I’m just trying to figure out how to say this.”
“Is something wrong?”
“If you’re talking about last night? Oh hell, no. That was everything I could have asked for, and I’d kill for another couple days of you-and-me alone time.”
Her thoughts, exactly. “Then why the frown?”
“There’s something you need to know, but I don’t want to shock you.”
Now he was being silly. She reached for the bra and T-shirt that were draped over the back of the chair by their bed. Somewhere during their exertions last night, he must have found all their clothing—she didn’t remember hanging them up.
“I’m pretty sure I’m a big girl now. You can spit it out, and if I need to have the vapors, I’ll warn you, okay?”
Something hit her in the back of the head and she turned with a laugh, scooping up the pillow and flinging it back at him.
“Okay, if you think you’re ready. Tomorrow is summer solstice.”
He fell silent. Laurin waited, reaching behind her to fasten her bra. “And…is that it? I was aware of that fact, Matt. Teacher, remember?”
“Yeah, well, there’s a party tomorrow night, and I’m not sure you should go.”
Laurin rested her fists on her hips, shirt dangling from her hand. “Are you trying to tell me to stay home while you go out rabble-rousing? What, is it a guys-only macho thing?”
“No. Fertility ritual.”
Oh, shit. Yeah, those could get out of hand. Still, she wasn’t a baby. “I’ve seen it before. I’m sure we have something similar among the Air People.”
Matt shook his head. “We’re talking the otter clan. As long as you’re prepared, I guess it will be all right. Just…don’t nod your agreement to anything, okay?”
She poked her head through the fabric of her T-shirt to see him staring seriously at her. “What are you talking about? What am I not supposed to agree to?”
