by Bonnie Vanak
“Of course. Why?”
She lifted a trembling hand to the tree. “Because you invited them in, Adrian. They’ve been hiding in the Christmas tree the gremlins brought into the house. That’s how they got inside past your safeguards.”
He swore softly, and went to her when a swarm of insects flew out of the pine branches, flooding the room in a dark cloud. Adrian’s protective instincts flared. He threw Sarah to the ground, covering her as the mosquitoes flew at them.
They were trapped.
Chapter 7
T he whine of thousands of mosquitoes rang in Sarah’s ears. She lay still beneath Adrian’s sheltering weight.
“Adrian, don’t let them suck your blood or they’ll absorb your DNA and can clone themselves into you,” she told him.
As he pulled her upright, a wave of enormous power filled the air. The black cloud of mosquitoes buzzed and then hit the protective magick shield he’d erected around each of their bodies.
The cloud divided into two. Half shifted into a pack of snarling wolves. They balefully eyed Adrian, growling as they tested the shield again. The other half remained mosquitoes and flew out the opened window.
Adrian’s power filled the room with crackling heat. “Stay here, don’t move from this spot or you’ll break the shield’s protective boundaries. I’ll kill the ones that escaped.”
He sped outside. Yellowed fangs dripped saliva as the wolves growled. Sarah caught a familiar scent from the lead wolf. Her heart shattered as the tingling down her spine felt like an electrical shock.
She was here. The Morph that had pursued her for ten long years. Sarah fumbled with the silver bracelet on her wrist. Reddened eyes crazed with bloodlust stared her down. She willed herself to see the Morph as it really was. Evil, twisted, greedy for power. Not the Draicon who had loved her.
From the opened doors, she caught the scent of scorched earth, heard bellows of outrage followed by loud cheers. The Morph clones, shifted into a dozen fire-breathing dragons, were being hit with a spray of water from a garden hose by the gleeful gremlins. As the water extinguished their fire, Adrian destroyed each dragon. Breath caught in her throat as one dragon’s jaws clamped around his arm before he could kill it. As the dragon died, she felt a faint connection die, as well. Sarah bit her lip. One of the Morphs that escaped ten years ago was now dead. Only one original remained: the deadliest Morph.
She had to help Adrian. Years ago she’d failed to eliminate her enemy and had abandoned Adrian on the beach. It was time to stand with him and finally do what she couldn’t face all these years.
Sarah viciously tugged at the bracelet, wincing at the pain as it scraped her skin, leaving her hand bloodied. The bracelet slid off. Magick flowed into her, closing the flesh gouges in her hand. She stepped outside Adrian’s protective shield.
She waved her hands, dispensing of her clothing, and transformed into wolf. Bones lengthened, her face became elongated, fur erupted on her body. Sarah snarled at the enemy, baring strong, white teeth.
The lead Morph raised its head. The wolf’s howl sang out in her blood and bones.
Memories surfaced of home and a love she thought would never die. Sarah, Sarah, remember me?
She could not move, think or even speak, only stand there in mute remembrance. The Morph’s form shimmered as if it shifted again.
Sarah raised her head and returned the wolf song in a long, mournful howl of her own.
Teeth bared, the wolves sprang forward. Once again she’d been a fool. Sarah cursed inwardly and mentally guarded her thoughts as she summoned the courage to defend herself.
Suddenly a microburst of air ruffled the fur on her back. Adrian.
He became a stunning blur of speed, attacking and ripping out Morph hearts. Sarah stared with dulled shame at the dead Morphs as their bodies dissolved into ash on the finely polished grained wood floor.
He’d destroyed them all, and she’d done nothing.
Holes made from the Morph’s acid blood dotted Adrian’s fine dinner suit. Adrian waved his hands, replacing the ruined suit with jeans and a black T-shirt. A single droplet of sweat trickled down his temple. He whipped around. “I see you removed the bracelet. If you were so damn intent on taking them on yourself, why didn’t you attack?”
Adrian dropped to his knees, ran his hands over her luxurious gray fur. He buried his head against her neck. “Dammit, Sarah, they could have killed you.”
She shifted back, then waved her hands to clothe herself. Energy drained from her, leaving her cold and shivering. Adrian helped her to her feet.
She stared at the piles of ash. “I couldn’t.”
“Why? You’re not a coward. What is it about these Morphs?”
Her throat closed up. Maybe it was finally time to confide in someone. Finally trust. How could Adrian hurt her any more than she already hurt?
Sarah fled into the kitchen, away from her dead enemies. She was finally safe.
And yet she felt only fresh grief, as if someone had sliced open a wound and let it bleed anew.
Adrian’s pulse raced as he followed her. Sarah seemed as frail as fine-spun glass.
A merry tune filled the air as a whistling, soot-covered Snark strolled into the kitchen. “What next, Adrian?”
“There are piles of ash in the living room. Put all of it into containers, Snark,” Adrian ordered.
Sarah watched the gremlin leave. “Of course. Morph remains are your trophy, to prove you defeated the enemy. Your ticket back to your clan.”
Her breath hitched as if she struggled to contain her emotions. Adrian’s heart shattered. He waited for her to let it out.
Sarah stared out the window as she braced her hands on the sink. “You lost your clan for a while, but you can return. Not like us. You don’t know what it’s like to run and keep running, and survive and just pray you can hang on long enough to bear the cold digging into your bones, the hunger digging into your empty stomach, afraid to shift, afraid of your own damn magick leading a trail for your enemy to track and finally kill you. Never fitting in, never belonging. Living as humans, never able to be one of them. Always outsiders.”
She whirled, facing him. Moisture sprang to her beautiful brown eyes, shimmering like diamonds beneath the overhead halogen lights. Her body went rigid as marble. He knew her, her strength and pride, and refusal to succumb to weeping.
“I didn’t want you to be hurt, Adrian. I never would have abandoned you if not for…”
Guided by the despair on her face, Adrian went to her. Gently, he cupped her cheeks as he tenderly regarded her.
“What, sweet? Why did you leave? Tell me.”
Trust me, his expression urged. With all his heart, he hoped she would open up to him.
Her trembling hands clutched his wrists as if hanging on to a life preserver. “I had to save my mother.”
“Why didn’t the other males in your pack defend her?”
A sob caught in her throat. “Oh, Adrian,” she half laughed, half cried. “Don’t you get it? The Morphs we fought that day on the beach were my pack. I was too ashamed to tell you exactly who you fought. You had a family loyal to you. They loved you. And mine was filled with hate and greed.”
Shocked, he could only stare. “How did this happen?”
Sarah released his wrists. “My parents had discovered that my mother was carrying a boy. Because my father hadn’t any children other than my sister and me, he’d appointed my eldest cousin to rule the pack after him. When he found out my mother would give him a son, my father renounced Dave as his heir.”
A sinking feeling settled in his chest.
“Dave was furious. After all those years, promised to be pack leader and then denied. My sister, Sandra, was angry, too. She was his oldest child, but wouldn’t inherit because she was female. Dave needed more power to take over the pack. The only way for a Draicon to obtain more power is to embrace evil and turn Morph.”
Adrian stared in growing horror.
“Dave
killed his own father, and it set off a chain reaction in the pack, some killing to turn Morph, others dying trying to defend themselves. My parents, my sister and I went into hiding. I made sure they were safe, and begged for your help to stand down my cousin and the other Morphs who were roaming the beach, looking for us.
“That night we faced them, I knew I’d made a big mistake. I could sense it, feel it because she was family and we were closely connected. I knew what she was thinking and planning. I hadn’t hidden my parents to keep them safe. I had placed them with an enemy I didn’t want to see, an enemy working with Dave to take over,” she whispered.
“Your sister.” He rested his hands on her shaking shoulders, gently rubbing them.
“When I left you on the beach, it was because I knew something terrible had happened. Sandra killed my mother, blinded my father and was about to kill him when I arrived…My father screamed at me to kill her. I couldn’t. She was my only sister, and I loved her! She attacked me and then ran off. My father and I blended in the human world to hide because Sandra wanted us both dead. My only sister, my flesh and blood, who once loved me.”
Her voice died on a shudder. Adrian went still, his heart stuttering in absolute fury and grief for her.
Sarah’s mouth wobbled tremulously. She unfastened the metal button of her jeans, then jerked the zipper down, the rasp thundering in the kitchen.
“And this is the price I paid that night, when I couldn’t fight her, couldn’t see her for what she’d turned into. This is what she did to me.”
Adrian didn’t dare breathe. He struggled to contain his own emotions, knowing this was a moment he must not interrupt.
Color suffused her entire body now as she shoved the pants down to her ankles and stepped out of them. Sarah wrapped her arms about herself.
“Father and I gave our portion of rationed beef to my mom to keep her and the baby strong. My father and I lacked enough energy to heal properly. So now he’s blind and I’m a cripple. No Draicon male wants me. Who would want a lame wolf as a mate?”
Her voice was like the hushed breeze pressing against the kitchen window. Adrian’s gaze dropped to her left leg, the leg she instinctively tried to cover with her hand.
Deep, jagged scars zigged and zagged down from the top of her pretty lace panties, past her knee, down to her slender, muscled calf. Her flesh looked as if it had been shredded, the bones shattered and never fully repaired.
Silence draped the air between them. He studied her leg, then looked her in the face. Pride stiffened her stance as she yanked up her pants.
“Even when I shift, I can’t run properly. I’m not an asset to a mate, but a liability.”
Adrian cupped her chin in one strong hand, forcing her to turn his way. “You are strong, sweet. You are strength, and survival and light in darkness. Any male worth his mettle should be proud to call you a mate.”
Her mouth moved with uncertainty as she glanced at him. Lurking in her wide eyes were traces of suspicion and doubt, but a new emotion flickered there, as well.
Hope.
He dared to ignite the flame, make it burn brighter. Heaven knew what a cynical bastard he’d been, only green gremlins for company, but he could at least do this. For her.
Suddenly she meant more than anything else. Sarah in that moment became a beacon, focusing all his concentration. He must make her believe in her own worth, and see what he so plainly saw. Her courage, strength, and tremendous endurance, and the life that pulsed so fiercely within her. Like the brightest star in the heavens, guiding him home.
“I understand now, Sarah. If I had known what was happening to you, trust me, sweet, I would have fought my way through a thousand burning suns, a legion of Morphs, hell, a pit of lava, to reach you and keep you from harm. How I wish I could have spared you…”
His voice trailed off.
“I’ve been so lonely,” she said in a small voice. “But no man will ever look at me the same, no man will want me…”
Adrian pulled her roughly into his arms. “This one does,” he said thickly.
He kissed her, pouring all he had into the kiss, fusing their lips together in desperate urgency, as if his mouth could soothe away all past hurts. Heal all she’d hidden inside for so long.
After a long moment, he pulled away. Adrian traced the outline of her kiss-swollen lips. No longer could he hold inside what he’d felt.
“Do you know what it was like to be near you, and yet so far away?” he murmured. “Never to touch you, knowing I can never have you, each agonizing moment thinking you had a mate somewhere who would have everything I wanted so badly, to wake up besides you, spend the years with you…”
“I only wanted you. But it wasn’t possible,” she whispered.
He ran a thumb along her jaw, marveling at the delicate bones and frailness, knowing the steely strength inside the woman. Sarah’s eyes closed as she leaned into his touch.
“I don’t have a mate, and every male I’ve sought as one rejected me. I never really wanted them because I could never forget you, Adrian. I’d gladly damn any opportunity to be with another male, if you wanted me, too, even if it were only for tonight.”
Adrian brought her face closer to his.
“I’d rather risk a lifetime of loneliness than never touch you at all. One night would never be enough—hell, an eternity of nights with you would never be enough to satisfy what I feel for you, but I would take it and cherish each second. If I had you just for one night, I could walk into the sun and not regret my life leaving me, because I’d be carrying the memory of your smile in my heart.”
She tenderly caressed his cheek. “Then let’s have tonight.”
Chapter 8
T hey were naked together, just like in her dreams. Except this dream was real, and she was standing before the full-length mirror in his bedroom. Sarah stared at Adrian’s reflection, his muscles rippling with strength.
Behind her, Adrian gently wrapped her in his arms, as if he could shelter her from all past pain. He brushed aside her hair, blew a breath on her neck. He kissed her there, sending a quiver racing down her spine as he ran his tongue down her throat.
His hands slid down her trembling thighs, reached in front and cupped her. Spreading her wet folds open, he drew a finger across her slickness. Sarah threw her head back against his shoulder, moaning.
“Look in the mirror, Sarah. Look at yourself, and see how beautiful you are,” he softly told her.
She saw herself, flushed, her body trembling with desire, being loved by a man who could have any woman. He’d chosen her.
As she lay down on the massive bed, Adrian knelt before her. He gently pulled her thighs open and stared at her glistening center. Embarrassment at this vulnerable position faded beneath his worshipping gaze. “You are so beautiful,” he murmured.
Then he lowered his mouth between her legs.
She felt the slight scrape of his fangs as his wicked tongue stroked over her center. Each delicious flick made the waves of pleasure grow higher and higher. Her hips pumped upward in nameless instinct, but he held her down. Sarah cried out as she shattered like a million pieces of light.
Adrian’s gaze was fierce as he straddled her. He palmed her breasts, his thumbs flicking over her cresting nipples. Each sensation spiraled her higher as he gazed down at her with possessiveness. No man had ever wanted her this much.
Nor had she ever wanted anyone else.
As she slid her arms about his neck, Sarah bent her head to the curve of his shoulder, tasting the saltiness of his skin. She nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder, marking him with her scent. “Make love to me, Adrian, be with me, even if only for tonight.”
“I’d be with you forever, Sarah,” he whispered.
Her hand slid down his muscled abdomen, feeling him quiver beneath her touch. She slid her fingers through the dark, crisp hairs at his groin to his rigid, long arousal. Slight trepidation filled her. He was huge, and she didn’t know if she could take him.
>
He studied her with such a tender look, she felt nothing but absolute trust.
Nudging her thighs open, he settled his hips between them. The tip of his erection touched her wet core. He pushed forward slowly.
“Look at me, Sarah, when we become one,” he commanded.
As she did, he gave a powerful thrust, sinking deep inside her. The pain was sharp and immediate. She gasped and writhed, instinctively recoiling from it. He brushed his mouth against hers.
“Shh,” he murmured. “Hold on to me. It will get better.”
Sarah clutched his broad shoulders. Adrian’s powerful muscles quivered as he held still. He was thick and hard inside her. She savored the feeling of being joined so intimately with him at last.
When she relaxed, he began to move slowly. Pain faded into pleasure, then a deep, intensified need with each stroke. She raised her hips to meet him, demanding more.
“You’re mine now, Sarah. Mine,” he breathed.
With each commanding thrust, it felt as if he sank into her very soul. He took her, marking her as exclusively his, his cock buried deep inside her, his body melded to hers. As if nothing could ever part them.
Adrian loved it, her tiny, excited cries, the delicious scent of her sex, how her tight, slippery heat surrounded him. Masculine pride filled him as she moaned with pleasure. The tips of her hardened nipples brushed against his damp chest as he slid over her. Pushing himself up on his hands, he watched her face. Wonder filled her darkened gaze as he tutored her in passion. He wanted to claim each succulent inch of her, bond them together in the flesh so she could never forget him after this night.
Wrapping her legs around his pumping buttocks, Sarah raised her hips to meet the rhythm he taught her. The sweet, intense pressure built higher. She arched against him, crying out his name as it burst inside her. Adrian groaned, shuddering, as his own release came. He collapsed atop her, his breathing ragged against her ear as she tenderly caressed him.
When they’d lain awhile, trembling and spent, he touched her face. “Are you all right?”
