The Hob

by Dana Marie Bell

  Robin felt dizzy. He hadn’t known that tidbit. No wonder she’d been as drawn to him as he had to her. The attraction would have been overwhelming when she saw him in his preferred form.

  It had to be the fae blood in her, that she would dream of him like that, and from such an early age. But the only ones who created a dream link with their mates were… All but one of them had died out long ago. Was it even possible? His hands shook as he placed the spatula on the spoon rest. “And this man, he met your expectations?”

  “Yes.”

  That last was said in such a small voice that Robin had no choice but to go to her. He moved the pan off the heat and turned off the stove, then pulled her from her seat and into his arms. He picked her up and carried her to the sofa, settling down there with her in his lap. One last question, then, before he revealed the truth. “Did you think he was the real Robin Goodfellow?”

  She eyed him warily. “I’m not sure there’s an acceptable answer to that. Also, you’re taking this remarkably well.”

  “Tell me. I give you my word, I will not judge you any less for it.” Robin was practically holding his breath, wondering what her answer would be.

  “You’ll think I’m crazy.” The wariness was back, as well as fear.

  “I will not, this I vow.” Robin would put her fears to rest, of that he had no doubt. He leaned close, his lips brushing against hers. “Robin Goodfellow is as real as you are.”

  She whimpered, her lips puckering, begging for a kiss. “You’re humoring me, but that’s okay.”

  “You wanted him.”

  She pulled away, her eyes wide, tears gathering to fall down suddenly pale cheeks. “I—”

  “Shh. I am not angry.” Robin shook off the deeper tones he’d adopted as Ringo, allowing his true voice to shine through. His eyes turned from brown to blue instantly. “I wanted you, too, from the moment I saw you.”

  She gulped and licked her lips. “What’s going on?”

  Fear was beginning to replace wariness, another emotion that should never have hold of his bondmate. He smiled, his fangs showing, his eyes flashing iridescent green. “I think you know.”

  She made the most adorable sound, somewhere between a meep and an eek, that Robin had ever heard. She touched his fang with a trembling finger, whimpering when she realized they were real. “Who are you?”

  Robin allowed the change to flow over him, adjusting her in his lap as he lost two inches and several pounds. Her weight did not disturb him, but now she was farther away from him than he liked. He pulled her closer, damn near moaning at the sight of his hair flowing over her arms and hands. This was the way it was meant to be, holding his bondmate as he truly was, not the illusion he’d shown to her before.

  “Oh. My. God.” She was shaking like a leaf, her hands fluttering over him as if dying to touch but afraid to do so.

  He took hold of those butterfly hands and placed a kiss on each wrist, lingering as the scent of her skin burrowed into his psyche, forever a part of him. He looked at her through his lashes, grinning at her as she gaped at him in astonishment.

  “Why, as you see, I am Robin Goodfellow. And you, my dear, are mine.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Oh, thank fuck, she wasn’t insane. She cuddled in closer, burying her face in his neck. His warmth surrounded her as he hugged her tightly to him. “Jesus. It really is you. I thought I was losing my mind.”

  “Indeed, and I am sorry for that.” He placed a soft kiss on top of her head in apology.

  “I dreamed of you.”

  “I believe you.”

  She smacked him on the chest. “Where the hell have you been?”

  He laughed. “Saving the world, of course.”

  “Hmph.” She wanted to pinch herself, just to make sure she was awake. It was entirely possible she’d fallen asleep on the bus, and now she was nuzzling some poor schlub just trying to get to work.

  “My apologies. I was unaware I was running that late.”

  She sniffed, hoping he didn’t feel the way she was trembling against him. “Just don’t make a habit of it.”

  He was chuckling and undoing her robe at the same time. “I promise, if only because I don’t want to be one of the thousands who live in fear of your mighty fists of death.”

  “Aw, you remembered.” It really was him, Robin fucking Goodfellow. “Wait. Why were you walking around as Ringo?”

  He cupped her bare breast. “I told you. Work.” He sounded completely distracted, and his gaze was fastened on the gap in her robe his hand had disappeared behind. With a flick of his wrist the material parted, exposing the breast he was toying with while leaving the other still covered.

  She pinched him through his silky shirt as hard as she could.

  “Ow!” Robin stared at her, shocked. “What did you do that for?”

  “I just wanted your undivided attention.”

  One brow quirked upward. “You had it.”

  She pointed to her face. “Yes, but my eyes are up here.”

  He kept his gaze firmly on her eyes and cupped her breast again. “As I said, you have it.”

  She made a disgusted noise that had him laughing silently. “Men. All the same, no matter the species.” Her eyes went wide as a sudden thought hit her. “Robin? How many different species are there, by the way?”

  He closed his eyes, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

  She hadn’t asked the question she’d meant to, and if she wanted an answer she’d better ask it quick. “Robin?”

  He smiled sweetly and ran his claw over her nipple. “What did you wish to know?”

  Whether or not that monster digging into my hip is as big as it feels. It figured that someone nicknamed Puck would have a hockey stick in his pants. “What are you working on? And how are Jaden involved, and Raven, and creepy guy?”

  “McNeil will not lay a hand on you.”

  “Ow, pinchy!” She slapped at his wrist until he loosened his grip. She rubbed at her breast and glared at him. “Fine. I’m awake.”

  He tilted his head. “You thought you were dreaming again?”

  She shrugged. What did he expect her to say? “The thought had crossed my mind.” She grabbed his hand and ran her fingers across his claws. And yes, the black nails he usually sported were normal length. These, however, were true claws, black and lethal and curving away from the tips of his fingers. “I like the manicure.”

  He shook his head. “You are stalling.”

  “Stalling?” She blinked up at him innocently.

  “Dragging your feet.”

  She lifted her legs and wiggled her toes. “They are feeling a mite scuffed up.”

  “Michaela.”

  “What do you want me to say?” She lowered her legs. “My dream man is cuddling me in his lap and molesting my boobs after a so-so day.” She snorted. “Why am I stalling again?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “I want an explanation as to why Robin Goodfellow would be at a human fairy convention. I mean, other than the obvious.”

  “What would the obvious be?” He began stroking her breast again, but his gaze remained on her face.

  “Fucking with the idiots pretending to be you.”

  “I gave up on that centuries ago. It got old after a while. There’s only so much, ah, fucking one can do before one grows bored.” He snickered at her horrified look. “Not that kind of fucking, my dear.” He lay her down on the sofa, his body straddling hers. He parted her robe completely, exposing her bare flesh to his hungry gaze. She shivered as his eyes literally began to glow. “Shall I show you how not bored I am of other kinds of fucking?”

  She opened her mouth to respond and gasped instead. Robin took her mouth like a conquering hero, with full knowledge that she belonged to him.

  He was right. She did. If this wasn’t a dream, if she really did have the chance to claim Robin as her own, she wasn’t going to fight it.

  She’d dreamt of him, and here he was, making love
to her.

  He reached between her thighs and stroked her delicately, his claws cold against her heated flesh. He parted the moist folds of her pussy and circled her clit.

  She pinched him again.

  “Ow!” He sat up, glaring at her with glowing green eyes.

  “Claws.” She pointed to her pussy. “Delicate bits.” She shook her finger at him. “So not chocolate and peanut butter.”

  He closed his eyes, whether to keep from laughing or in exasperation she didn’t really care. The claws, however, disappeared, making her one happy camper.

  He draped himself over her once more, kissing her deeply. “Now. Where were we?”

  Michaela arched up against his hand and whimpered into his mouth, eager for the pleasure she’d only felt in her dreams.

  “Yes. Move for me.” Robin nibbled her earlobe and kissed down the side of her neck until he reached her shoulder. “Dance for me, my sweet.”

  When he bit down and began to suck up a mark, Michaela danced. She writhed under his touch, his mouth, her breasts rubbing against the silky material of his shirt. The fact that he was still fully clothed while she lay exposed was more of a turn-on than she’d thought possible. The sharp edges of his fangs nearly broke her skin, adding a zing of danger.

  He nipped his way to her breast, his tongue swirling around the edges of her nipple. His clever fingers began to stroke her harder, and Michaela trembled. She ran her hands over his shoulders, his muscles rippling under the silk shirt. His hair twined itself around her fingers as if it had a mind of its own.

  She clenched his shoulders as he finally took her nipple into his mouth, sucking hard, bringing it to a throbbing, needy point. She planted her feet on the sofa and rocked her hips, demanding more. More fingers, more tongue, more Robin.

  Pleasure and pain combined as Robin slipped a finger inside her, twisting so that his palm continued to rub against her clit. Pleasure began to build within her as she rubbed herself against his palm, demanding the orgasm his touch promised.

  Robin switched to her other breast, scraping his fangs along the hard tip of her nipple before taking it into his mouth and sucking hard. Michaela bucked against him, crying out in pleasure as the orgasm washed through her.

  “Robin? What’s going on?”

  Robin lifted his head and snarled at the sound of Kael’s voice. In a swirl of dark smoke, Michaela found herself laid out on a huge, four-poster bed with a soft, dark purple down comforter. The robe was gone too, possibly left behind on Kael’s sofa.

  That was all she saw before Robin was hovering over her again, his expression feral. “No one sees you thus but me.”

  She had no real problem with that, so she nodded.

  He blanketed her, the silk of his shirt cold against her breasts, his pants sliding against her as he rocked into her. His bright hair surrounded her, closing off the outside world. “Say it.”

  The pleasure he’d given her was still swarming her senses. She arched up against him, the feel of his pants rubbing against her core sending shivers down her spine. “Only you, Robin.”

  He kissed her and thrust against her, his tongue and hips synchronizing perfectly. She could imagine the feel of him inside her, hot and hard, stretching her just right. She grabbed hold of the back of his head, her fingers tangling in his hair, and held him to her, demanding more. Always more.

  In response he kissed her thoroughly, leaving no part of her mouth unexplored. She wrapped her legs around his waist, wanting him inside more than her mouth.

  Well, okay. She did want him in her mouth. She wanted to be in his mouth too. She took hold of his shoulders and, using her legs, twisted until he was on his back and she was on top of him.

  One brow rose cockily. “You wanted something, my dear?”

  She was going to wipe that smug expression off his face. “Yup!” She wriggled around until her pussy was over his face. She giggled at the sight of his slacks jerking as his cock tried to spring free. She undid his zipper, pulling him free.

  Robin got the hint, tugging her hips until she was exactly where he wanted her. At the first thrust of his tongue into her pussy she nearly buckled.

  “Yes.” She had to lock her arms before she collapsed on his thighs.

  She grabbed hold of his cock and took it into her mouth, the taste of him filling her senses. She swirled her tongue around the head of his cock, lapping up the precome until he was squirming beneath her. He moaned beneath her touch, thrusting up into her mouth when she reached into his pants and cupped his balls.

  Suddenly, Robin was naked beneath her, his cock proudly erect in a nest of bright red hair. She nuzzled his balls before taking his cock back into her mouth. Robin began thrusting up into her mouth. Michaela kept still and let him set the pace, wrapping a hand around the base so he wouldn’t accidentally choke her.

  He also began tonguing on her clit, making her moan in pleasure. She sucked hard and he stilled, letting her dictate his actions once more. She took him deep, as deep as she could without choking, and suckled him.

  The reaction she got was not what she expected.

  Robin moaned. His bondmate was going to drive him mad. She had him in her mouth, that hot, sweet mouth, trying to draw his essence from him before he was ready.

  Robin had other plans.

  He misted, coming to his knees behind her, much to her surprise. She squeaked when his hand landed on her pale ass, caressing the sting away. “Naughty, naughty.”

  She looked at him over her shoulder, her startled expression drawing a laugh out of him. She pointed to his cock. “I wasn’t done with that yet.”

  He smirked and slapped his cock against her ass. “Neither was I.”

  “Oh.”

  He laughed at her meek tone, but the way she wiggled her ass at him left him in no doubt as to her true desire. Robin rubbed the head of his cock against her wetness. “Are you ready, my dear?”

  In answer, she thrust back against him, trying to impale herself on him.

  Robin stilled her with a touch. Gods, she was so beautiful, so fragile, his truebond, the woman who would be his heart and guard his soul. Robin slid inside her, watching as he disappeared into her wet warmth.

  Michaela tried to get up on her knees, but some instinct within Robin had him pushing her back down. She was his, and she would not get away. He blanketed her body, his arms caging her, his cock pinning her, and rode her down until she lay flat beneath him. “Say you are mine.”

  “Robin.” She thrust back against him, but he held fast. She would say what he needed to hear.

  “Say it, Michaela.” He needed to hear it said, and not in some dream.

  “Yours.” She looked up at him through her hair. “And you’re mine.”

  Robin began to fuck her, rolling his hips against her ass, reveling in her flushed cheeks and dilated eyes. He closed his eyes and shuddered when an orgasm shivered through her, squeezing his cock. “Yes.”

  Robin opened his eyes, surprised to find he was glowing. Green light surrounded him, enveloped him and his lover, blanketing them in his power. He smiled, content, and let his power flow.

  He would be able to claim his truebond after all.

  “Robin?”

  “Hush. You’ve consented to be mine, and I am making it so.”

  She rolled her eyes, an odd look when her face was half-turned away. “Not the green glow. Although we’re adding it to the list to talk about later. I just…”

  “Hmm?” He rolled his hips again, waiting for an answer.

  She bent her knees and pushed back against him, driving him even deeper into her. “Fuck me stupid.”

  He shuddered. “As you wish.”

  Michaela gasped as Robin gave her exactly what she’d asked for. He lifted her hips, but she kept her shoulders down, giving in to that craving he seemed to have to cover her. His teeth clamped on to the side of her neck, his fangs not quite breaking the skin. His fingers gripped her hips, his claws scratching her. She didn’t care, and
he didn’t seem to notice. The sting meant that Robin had finally lost control.

  Robin began to pound into her, his hips snapping, the sound of their flesh slapping together echoing through the room. Michaela reached between her legs to stroke her clit, shocked when another orgasm rolled through her before she could touch herself. Her body clenched around Robin’s cock, throbbing, robbing her of breath and sight.

  That green glow intensified, seemed to feed off her orgasm. As it brightened, Michaela found herself spinning out of control, her body’s responses no longer her own. Robin owned her, played her like a fiddle, wringing pleasure from her willing body in wave after wave.

  Her fingers clenched in the pillow as he fucked her hard. Her nipples scraped against the comforter, tiny points of delight that only added to her ecstasy. It was as if every erogenous zone in her body was being simultaneously stroked, and Michaela loved it.

  “Fuck.” She gasped as she came again, the bright light overwhelming her, Robin riding her through the whole orgasm, keeping her on the edge.

  He growled, and the sound wasn’t human. Michaela didn’t have it in her to care. Robin was bringing her to the heights of ecstasy, then showing her that there was more beyond even that. Michaela had not had more than two orgasms with any other lover, but with Robin?

  She was in heaven.

  His teeth pierced her skin and she shrieked as fiery pleasure raced from that spot, blinding her. “More.”

  He snarled, his hips snapping furiously, his hard cock pounding into her. His hair danced around her and she grabbed hold, pulling at it, tugging, trying to get him deeper, harder, faster, anything that would make her scream again.

  Robin’s claws dug into her hips, drawing blood, but she didn’t care. She was coming again, screaming as he fucked her, already needing just a bit more.

  “Mine.” Red-hot fire raced from where Robin’s claws had pierced her skin, consuming her body, a fire only Robin could put out.