by Bianca D'Arc
The kiss went deeper, his tongue staking a claim on her that she could not deny. She didn’t want to deny him anything. She wanted it all. With Josh.
The attraction was raw and powerful. Just like his magic. Something in him had called out to her from the first. Something primal. Even more basic than his wolf nature. This was magic primeval, his energy calling to hers, his spirit finding a connection with hers in a way that was both unique and utterly fascinating.
“Do you want me?” Josh broke off kissing her to ask. “Do you want this? Us?”
His magic was still very near the surface, but it was more controlled now. More patient and pensive. It was waiting for her answer. He was waiting for her answer.
Did she want to make love to Josh? Oh, yeah.
She nodded at him, unable to form the words for a moment. This felt big. Momentous. Life-altering.
But did it feel that way to him, as well? She couldn’t be sure. Did it really matter right at this very moment?
She convinced herself it didn’t. There would be time later to carefully consider her actions, but right now, all that mattered was his hands on her body, his body joining to hers. Pleasure promised and received. Given and taken in equal measure. She wanted that with all her heart, and she knew, without fully understanding how she knew, she would get that from this encounter. This man. This special moment out of time.
“Yes,” she managed to say, holding his gaze and wondering if he felt how the world had changed with that single word.
“Yes?” he repeated, as if unsure he’d heard her correctly.
She nodded again. “Yes, Josh.” Her words were coming more easily now that she’d crossed the hurdle of making up her mind. “I want to be with you. Now. Here.”
A smile started in his sparkling eyes and stretched his lips. It warmed her, even as she saw the satisfaction of his inner predator, having cornered his prey. But the wolf meant her no harm. She knew that instinctively. No, the wolf that shared Josh’s soul had been stalking her for days, she realized suddenly. The wolf had wanted her for a while and was satisfied with a hunt well played.
She would have laughed had the situation not been so potentially explosive. Josh’s hands on her body were making her squirm as he divested her of her clothing…slowly…gently…intently.
Her own magic gathered, pushed against her skin, wanting to get out. The magic wanted to romp with the answering energy in Josh’s soul. It wanted to caress him the way his wild magic caressed her with his every touch.
She’d never experienced anything like it before. Then again, she’d never made love to a half-fey werewolf before. The flavor of his magic was heady. Powerful and wild. Nascent, yet fully developed, and his fey side was even stronger than hers in its intensity. The feel of their magics blending was heady stuff. She almost felt drunk on the simple touches they’d exchanged to this point. She wondered what would happen when they climaxed. Supernova? She was almost afraid to find out, but nothing was going to stop this. Not now.
Her fears of the unknown. His uncertainty about his feyness. All of that meant little when he was undressing her. Stroking each inch of skin he uncovered. Laying kisses down on each part of her body he exposed.
He paused at her breasts, licking and sucking, squeezing and rubbing. Her breath grew short as she panted, and her excitement rose to new heights. Her clothing disappeared, and she lost track of where he threw the various items. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except the two of them, here and now.
She tried to stroke him the way he was stroking her, but he wouldn’t allow much contact. He made her feel as if this was all for her. That she was the center of his universe at this moment and that her pleasure was paramount. She wanted to give equal measure, but he moved away from her seeking hands and diverted her with new moves that made her moan with desire.
The man was a menace. A skilled lover who seemed to know every trick in the book to make her forget all about her plans to cover him in kisses and make her impatient for him to fill her with his hardness so they could ride to the stars together. She was through waiting. She wanted to feel him inside her.
“Do me now, Josh,” she breathed, clutching his shoulders as he made room for himself between her splayed thighs. “Come into me now. No more waiting.” Her words were ragged puffs of whispered air, but he seemed to hear. And obey.
He pushed into her, going slowly at first. He was a big man, and she hadn’t done this in far too long. She had to adjust, and he gave her all the time she needed to do so. But then… As soon as they were both comfortable, he began to move.
And the Earth itself moved. Or at least, it seemed to from her perspective. Almost immediately, pleasure zinged through her. It was a small climax compared to what came next, but it stole her breath and made her realize she’d never been with a man who cared so much for her before. Josh was truly special. In so many ways.
He rode her through the initial peaks and pushed her ever higher. He was a considerate lover, not rushing her or pushing her too hard. But he was also an animal at heart. At least part of him was a wolf spirit, and that wolf both cared for its mate—or at least the woman it was mating with at the time—and drove them both toward climax. Relentlessly. With the wildness that was part of his soul.
At the same time, Deena was very aware of the way their magics were building up. Merging and parting. Converging with almost explosive strength, then moving away as if repelled. At one point, they joined together, and she wasn’t entirely sure that, when the magic separated again, it was as purely one or the other as it had been. It certainly felt like a little bit of his primeval nature had joined to her human-fey magic, and a bit of her seemed to be part of him now. Unless she was much mistaken.
But those thoughts were for another time. She would ponder it all later. There were probably unexpected ramifications to what she believed might have just happened, but they were in the Goddess’s circle, under Her protection. Whatever happened here would probably work out for the best. At least, she hoped so.
And then, there was no more time for thinking as the world spun apart in the brightest climax yet. Josh tensed above her as he cried out, coming to his own completion, even as she shook with reaction, her body spasming in the most amazing pleasure she had ever known.
They clung to each other as the intensity of the orgasm washed over them both. At one point, she opened her eyes to see the sacred circle lit with a billion particles of the purest white light, reaching up toward the heavens as if to add to the collection of stars already there.
That was their magic. The combination of their energies was as explosive as she’d suspected it would be, but the unexpected purity of the bright white light was something she could not ever had guessed at. It was significant in ways that she could spend a lifetime pondering, but for right now, she was just happy to be here, sharing this moment, with one of the most intriguing men she had ever encountered.
“You okay?” His voice was a sexy low growl near her ear.
He’d collapsed partially over her, though the bulk of his considerable weight was to her side. Their legs were still tangled together, but he’d managed to move most of his torso off her before his strength gave out.
She looked over at him and smiled. “I’m wonderful.” Her words were slurred with bliss, slow with lethargy he’d induced by scrambling her pleasure receptors and turning her mind to mush in the best possible way.
He smiled back. “Me too.” He rolled slightly, landing beside her, on his back, gazing upward at the last of the little white sparkles of their energy floating heavenward. “Did we cause that?” he asked, pointing to the fading energy that was still strong enough to be visible from within the magical confines of the stone circle.
“Mm-hmm,” she replied, feeling both satisfied and oddly proud. “It was even more intense a few minutes ago.”
“You bet it was.”
She chuckled at his humor. “I’ll second that, but I was talking about the energy floating u
p to the universe.”
He played innocent. “So was I. Scout’s honor.”
She looked over at him, narrowing her eyes. “Were you ever a scout?”
“No, but I’ve been known to hide out in the woods near the scout camps. At least I know scouts won’t indiscriminately start shooting at a lone wolf in the woods.”
A comfortable silence fell for a few moments.
“It must be so cool to be able to become a wolf,” she said, not realizing she was about to reveal that particular thought out loud. It seemed all her defenses were down after the amazing experience of making love with Josh.
Not that she minded that he now knew how cool she thought shapeshifting was. On the contrary, of all her inner conjectures to come out unexpectedly, that was probably the least embarrassing.
“It is,” he agreed. “It can also be dangerous under the wrong circumstances.”
“I bet,” she agreed. “But still… To have heightened senses must be neat. Or gross, I guess, at times.”
“Nothing really grosses out my wolf side. Nature is nature. The only thing that really bothers me is the scent of certain harsh chemicals and really strong odors that don’t exist in nature. Excessive noise gets to me, too, which is why cities are difficult.”
“But not impossible, right? I mean, you had to have gone to New York to meet Duncan, and I know there are Packs of wolves who live there.”
“Yeah, I ran afoul of one while I was looking for Duncan. I hate wolf Packs.” His voice had turned to a growl that surprised her.
“Really? Why?” He’d surprised her with his attitude toward other wolves.
“All those petty rules,” he replied. “All that formality and one-upmanship.”
“Spoken like the wolf who knows he has no equal,” she complimented him, realizing how hard things must’ve been for him all this time, not really knowing the other side of his nature. “I can see where it would’ve been tough for you. All that magic bottled up inside… You must’ve known instinctively that there was more, but you didn’t know how to get to it.”
He rolled his head over to meet her gaze. “Maybe.” Then, he turned to look starward again. “I can’t really say what screwed up my past, but now that I’ve met you and am learning about all this stuff…” He gestured toward the last little sparks of white light that were just visible as they made their way out into the universe. “I have hope for a better future for possibly the first time in my life. If I haven’t said it before, thank you for that, Deena. And for so much more. You’re a pretty amazing woman.”
She felt like preening under his praise. His words made her feel all warm and fuzzy, though she wasn’t very good at accepting compliments.
“I’m glad you think so, because I think you’re a pretty amazing guy,” she told him, feeling a little shy, even after their incredible sexual encounter.
“You do?” His tone was back to teasing as he rolled onto his side, propping his head up on one hand. “Then, what do you say to continuing this inside? On a softer surface? With sheets?”
The light dancing in his eyes now was tamed. Happy and not as chaotic as the golden swirling light she’d seen before. Their encounter had changed him. It had changed his energies, subduing his power in a good way, making order out of the chaos. At least for now. Perhaps the change would be long-term, but there was no way to know that at this point.
Still, any change from that explosive, tempestuous energy was good. This was a step in the right direction, for sure. She smiled with happiness, both for his progress—even though he didn’t realize it just yet—and his suggestion that they go inside and try this again. As far as she was concerned, she had nothing but him on her agenda for the rest of the night.
CHAPTER SEVEN
When Josh woke the next morning, he was alone in the king-sized bed in the guest room of Deena’s house. They’d retired to his room because she’d told him shyly that it had the bigger bed. He liked that her room wasn’t a siren’s lair. He felt a primitive sort of satisfaction that she didn’t sleep with every man that came calling. Not that she seemed to get a lot of company way out here.
Still, his inner caveman liked to imagine her sleeping all alone in her bower…until he rolled into town. The wolf inside him wanted to howl in satisfaction while his two-legged side just wanted to laugh at his own thoughts.
Sometime in the night—in the collision and blending of their magical energies—he’d become hyper-aware of the luscious feel of Deena’s power. He could truly appreciate now how it lay just under the surface, an inferno of strength, linked through Deena’s beautiful soul to the Goddess Herself.
No wonder the Mother of All found it easy to speak through Deena. Her soul was the purest Josh had ever encountered, and her strength was awesome in its ferocity, with the flavor of other realms. Perhaps, in time, he’d learn to control his newly awakened magic as Deena could.
He already felt better about his wayward power. It seemed more willing to obey his wishes this morning. As if it had learned from the merger with Deena’s last night.
Reaching out with just a tiny tendril of his power, Josh tried to figure out where Deena had gone. Judging by the faint light slanting in through the window blinds, it was early morning. Very early. Just the other side of dawn.
Then, he realized. She’d probably gone down to the barn to see to her friendly animals. He encountered her energy more easily than he’d expected—this being a new skill and something he’d never really tried before. If he interpreted his magical senses correctly, she was checking on the injured calf, who had spent the night with Deena’s other animals, surrounded in a furry, protective circle.
He had to marvel at how Deena’s mismatched family of animals seemed to cross species lines easily. The alpacas had allowed the little calf to snuggle into their wool as they sat, one on each side of the baby. That was the picture in Deena’s mind when Josh made light contact. The sense of love and happiness that filled her spilled over and made him feel lighter.
When she became aware of him, the feelings intensified, as if she were sending them to him, and he found himself with one hand clutched to his heart. Not in pain, but in wonder. He’d never felt such things before. Only with this special, magical woman.
She managed to communicate the idea that she’d see him soon. He interpreted the emotional tone to mean that she’d finish with her menagerie and then come back to the house.
Josh leapt out of bed and cleaned himself up, dressing with extra care, though his wardrobe didn’t really give him a lot of choices. Clean jeans and T-shirt was about as far as he could go. But he could definitely get breakfast started in the kitchen. His inner wolf growled agreement about feeding their female. They had to take care of her. She was theirs.
Such possessive thoughts didn’t scare him anymore. In fact, it didn’t even make him blink. Somewhere in the night, he’d accepted his fate. Not only accepted it, but looked forward to the time when she would understand that what they’d shared had been for keeps. They were mates.
Josh was just putting breakfast on the table when he heard a scuffling sound that seemed out of place. He’d been keeping his wolf-enhanced senses alert to keep track of Deena’s progress through the barn. He could just hear her murmur to various members of her menagerie and their vocal responses. A whicker from a horse. A gentle moo from the cow. A kind of chittering sound from the furry alpacas. Clucks from chickens, honks from geese, quacks from ducks, and the like.
He’d timed his breakfast service with what he’d thought was the sounds of her washing up with the hose out in the yard as she finished her morning rounds, when the new sound intruded. It was coming from the road near the front of the house, and it didn’t sound friendly.
All the animals had gone quiet.
The backdoor opened even as Josh headed toward the front.
“Wait,” Deena said in an urgent whisper. “Someone’s testing my wards.”
“Visitors?”
“No,” she ans
wered distractedly. “Invaders.”
Josh paused, frowning at her. “Can they get through?”
She shrugged, still seeming to concentrate on something elsewhere. “Eventually.”
“Do we stand our ground or run?” That was the crux of the matter as far as he was concerned.
“Can’t run. The animals would be unprotected. I’ll stand and fight.”
His wolf liked the determined look on her face, even as his human side worried that she might be in danger. He didn’t like the way she’d phrased her defiance, though. He was with her. He’d be fighting at her side. He wouldn’t leave her on her own to defend her animals and home.
“Once they’re inside your perimeter, is there a spot you prefer for the fight? Do we give up any ground?” he asked experimentally, feeling out her strategy.
“Not if I have anything to say about it.” She narrowed her eyes and looked straight at him. “I could use your help, though.”
“Whatever you need.” His answer was immediate and definite. He’d give anything to protect her—up to, and including, his life.
“I guess all that magic last night didn’t go unnoticed, though I thought the majority of it had been contained by the stone circle,” Deena thought aloud as she braced herself for yet another testing of her wards.
The wards themselves weren’t meant to keep anything serious out. They were her early warning system, and they stood firm against most intrusions, but if real power came against them, they would fail. And it felt like they were on the verge of failure right now.
“Whoever’s out there, he’s strong. Very strong. And not friendly.”
A growling sound came from Josh’s throat—a sharp reminder that her ally was not fully human or fey, but was also a werewolf. She wondered if that would help them against what was coming. She thought maybe it could be used to their advantage. Somehow.
