“You don’t understand, Phoebe. If one of them managed to find you, they can find all of you,” Forest said. He went to rush out of the alley and she ran after him, stopping him before he got out.
“What do you mean them? Them who? And why would they go after Heather?”
Deep in her gut, she knew the answers to her questions, she just didn’t want to accept them. Phoebe and her family were special. The target had been painted on them years ago, costing her sister her sanity.
Forest touched her cheek and forced a rather non-convincing smile to his face. “Stay with Sirius. He won’t let anything happen to you.”
“No. You stay with him.” She didn’t tell Forest how she was fighting the urge to lick every square inch of Sirius’ body. He’d most likely freak out again. She’d managed to go this far in life without giving in to the temptation of men but since no man had ever made her think of spreading her legs for him upon first sight, Phoebe wasn’t sure how much weight that carried here.
“I need to find Heather.”
Grabbing hold of Forest’s belt loop, Phoebe gave him a good yank to stop it. “No, you don’t. She’s fine. I promise.”
“Phoebe, let go. I need to find…”
A tall blonde woman with emerald green eyes barreled around the corner. Phoebe giggled. “See. I told you that you didn’t need to find her. She found you.”
Heather’s eyes widened as she almost knocked Phoebe over, hugging her tight. “Don’t ever do that again! Do you hear me? If you’re going to be late. Call. Don’t leave me there worried sick about you. Too much weird stuff has…” She glanced at Phoebe’s hand, which still held Forest’s belt loop and arched a brow. “Do I even want to know? If you’re sleeping with my best friend, could you spare me details about him sexually? Thanks.”
“I’m not sleeping with Forest. Eww—ahh, eww. I got a mental image and now I’m sick to my stomach.”
Forest unhooked her from his pants and gave her a droll look. “Oh, I’m that bad to look at?”
“Yes,” Sirius said, suddenly behind her. He slid his hand over Phoebe’s lower back and fire shot through her. She yelped and Sirius rubbed the area he’d touched. “Sorry.”
Sorry?
She’d have commented but Heather attacked her with kisses and hugs again. “Phoebe, I was so scared. All day I’ve had this sick feeling in my gut that something bad was going to happen to you and then you didn’t show up for work tonight. I lost my mind. Poor Forest got screamed at to the point he bolted out of the door to find you.” She glanced at Forest. “Sorry.”
He winked. “It’s fine. I’m just glad to see you’re both okay.”
“Did something happen?”
Aland cleared his throat. “That is the question of the night. We’ve been trying to find out what spooked your friend here but she’s rather tight-lipped.”
Heather shot him a hard look. “My cousin is not tight-lipped. Phoebe talks to everyone. In fact, her sister and I used to have to threaten to tape her mouth shut to keep her from talking to strangers. At least she’s stopped talking to herself. And if she’s being selective about men she just met, all the better.”
The mention of Phoebe’s sister dampened her already somber mood. Heather cupped her cheek and met Phoebe’s gaze head-on. Since they were the exact same height, it made for easy eye-to-eye conversations. “Hey, don’t be sad, baby girl, Sidney’s fine.”
No part of Phoebe wanted to discuss Sidney in front of strangers. Backing up, she went into the warmth of the body behind her and closed her eyes as large arms wrapped around her instantly soothing her. Given the fact that life had been anything but calm as of late and men appeared out of nowhere, Phoebe was a bit shocked by just how relaxed she truly was.
Phoebe, tell me why you’re sad.
Peeking out of one eye, she glanced around, looking for the owner of the voice in her head. While she wasn’t able to locate him, she did find Heather staring at her with a questioning look upon her face. “What’s wrong?”
“I like to think since we live together and are basically inseparable, you’d tell me you were seeing someone. I wouldn’t have freaked out had I known you were with your new boyfriend, Phoebe.”
Boyfriend?
“My new what? I’m not seeing anyone.”
Heather’s green gaze narrowed as she grabbed hold of Phoebe’s arm and yanked her out of the safety of the arms she’d been in. “Who the hell are you and why are you touching my little cousin?”
“No, Heather! Don’t…” Phoebe didn’t get it out of her mouth before Heather was smacking Sirius in the side of the head. Gasping, Phoebe jumped in front of Sirius. It took a minute to pry Heather off him but she managed. The woman was tenacious, she’d give her that. “Don’t! He didn’t hurt me.”
“I don’t really care. He was acting like he knew you a little too well for my taste.”
Forest grinned. “I agree. Kick his ass, sweetheart.”
The smug look on Forest’s face infuriated Phoebe. She lunged at Forest, only to find herself being lifted off the ground. Moisture flooded her cunt and visions of satin sheets and the memory of endless nights of passion attacked her. She could almost feel Sirius deep within her, filling her completely while they wrought pleasure from one another. The sensation overwhelmed her senses, leaving her clinging to the arms around her waist as if they were a lifeline and silently praying she had the willpower to walk away from him.
The minute Sirius’ clothed erection pressed against her ass, Phoebe had to bite back a moan. Sirius didn’t bother. He grunted in her ear and gripped her tighter to him as he began rocking ever so slightly against her. She wanted to bend forward and beg the man to take her, to take what she’d saved for so long but she held back. Where she drew the strength from to resist the urge she didn’t know but she was thankful for it.
“Put me down,” she whispered without conviction. “I still want to smack Forest.”
“Enough,” Sirius said, his voice deep. “Aland, wipe the stupid look off your face. This isn’t funny.”
“Oh, I beg to differ, Sirius. This is the funniest thing I’ve seen in centuries…erm…ages. I’m thinking about going to get popcorn and coming back to watch the show. My money is on the girls. I think they could take you both.”
Heat rushed through Phoebe as Sirius held her. She gasped as he pressed his lips to her ear. “I think we can all play nice here. Don’t you?” he said softly.
Slatkiska, why do you keep ignoring me? Talk to me. Tell me what you want.
Phoebe tried to stop her body from showing signs of arousal but failed. Her nipples were hard and sensitive, scraping lightly against her shirt and her breathing was erratic at best. Sirius’ hands seemed to scorch everywhere they touched and she immediately began imagining the various places he could put them.
Breaking his hold and wiggling out of his grasp should have been easy. It wasn’t like Sirius was using force to hold her in place. He was using something else. Something she couldn’t fight. He was using her own body against her. Her desire. Somehow, Phoebe managed to break his hold but stumbled a bit as the loss of contact shocked her system. She almost went back into his arms but stood her ground instead.
“Phoebe?” Heather asked, her voice low. “You okay, baby girl?”
Her gaze went to Sirius and she nodded. “I’m fine.” She took a deep breath. “Thank you both for your concern.”
Sirius reached for her. “Don’t go. Stay with me.”
It was such an odd request from a man she’d technically just met that Phoebe was speechless. Heather, on the other hand, was not. She grabbed Phoebe’s bag and took her by the hand. “Come on. You obviously need some sleep.”
Chapter Two
Sirius leaned against the wall in the corner of Phoebe’s bedroom. By all rights, he should have been sick of standing in one spot. He wasn’t. From the minute he’d laid eyes on the tall, beautiful brunette, he’d been unable to rip his gaze from her. Even in sleep, Phoebe w
as a goddess. She made no sound and he’d twice checked to be sure she was breathing. Moving around too much could bring the attention of the other Constellaziogēn male who had been with her earlier. The one called Forest. He was close, most likely lived in the same building or a neighboring one and had been periodically scanning the apartment for signs of trouble.
Sirius had sent Aland to check on the other man, sensing something different about him right away. He’d been right. Forest wasn’t human. He was like Aland and Sirius, an immortal Gatekeeper sent forth hundreds of years ago from another realm to guard the portals here on Earth, protecting against unmonitored passage between realms. Humans weren’t permitted to have knowledge of their kind for good reason. They tended to panic or, worse yet, worship them as if they were gods. This was no surprise. In comparison to humans, the Constellaziogēns did appear godlike. They possessed ancient knowledge of time and space, along with powerful magik. In their realm, there were twelve sections, or legions, as his people referred to them. The humans that the first groups of Constellaziogēn Gatekeepers befriended named the signs of the zodiac after each legion.
Constellaziogēn warriors who served the King did so under a legion’s title. When it came time to head to Earth, the King personally selected warriors he deemed worthy of the task of protecting not only Constellaziogēn but Earth and its population as well. It went without saying that the Gatekeepers would naturally gravitate towards humans born under their legion’s sign—the time of the year when on Constellaziogēn they would return home from the wars to celebrate and be with loved ones. Even Sirius wasn’t immune to the pull of humans born under the Pisces sign. The urge to protect them was even greater than with others. It was even said that the warriors’ mates were born under the sign of their legion. Only the King and his council knew all the secrets of the Constellaziogēns. All Sirius was sure of was that he would live until the end of time, serving his King and doing everything within his power to uphold his duties as a Gatekeeper.
Until recently, all had been peaceful in regards to the portals between realms. The Zodiac Zone abductions changed all of that, alerting Sirius and others like him that something was afoul. The various symbols left in the wake of each disappearance weren’t random signs of the zodiac like the media made them out to be. They were very clear messages spelled out in the ancient language of the Constellaziogēns. Each one was as to the point as the rest—This is not the first nor will it be the last. We are taking what is rightfully ours—potential mates.
A tremor moved through Sirius as he thought back to the helplessness he had felt when he’d sensed Phoebe’s fear from a distance but couldn’t reach her. She’d somehow managed to keep him from being able to locate her physically from the day he realized she was even alive. Mystically, he could make contact with her for indefinite periods so long as he kept his libido in check. Prior to her turning eighteen just a few years ago, that hadn’t been an issue. In fact, he’d never once thought of her sexually until then. It was as if someone flipped a magikal switch when she reached majority, bathing Phoebe in a new light. A light so erotic that it was all he could do not to come at the very thought of her.
It wasn’t until the start of the abductions that Sirius had realized he had the power to pleasure her from a distance. Often he’d be forced to pull back to avoid overloading her with his magik. He hated leaving her like that but wouldn’t risk harming her. Their mystical connection was strong, as was the case with mates among the Constellaziogēns. The idea of finding his mate living on Earth was absurd. In fact, he’d spent years rejecting the idea of who Phoebe was to him. He hadn’t pushed her as he should to seek him out or reveal her name to him. Sirius had actually encouraged Phoebe to keep her distance. He had also made a point to try to confine his pet name for her to Slatkiska—”sweet”. It had been what he’d referred to her as while she was growing up. It seemed safe enough, yet lately he often found himself referring to her as his wife as well and turning his old name for her into something more.
His body had burned for Phoebe’s even before laying eyes on her. Sirius had found himself mentally connecting to her more and more, out of a need to not only know she was safe but also a need to be close to her in any form he could.
Phoebe Fisher.
Her name rolled around in his head, making him smile. She certainly was a Phoebe. It suited her. Having spent the span of her short life communicating in some fashion with her, he knew her personality well. She was spunky, carefree, compassionate and so very creative. Her imagination knew no bounds.
Often, as a child, she’d told him stories to chase away the sadness she sensed in him. Each story was as vivid and colorful as the next. All left his mood lighter and a slight smile on his face. The smiling tipped off Aland, his partner in both realms, that something was different. Aland had served with Sirius as a warrior in the Constellaziogēn army for centuries before they found themselves being sent to baby-sit the portals. Sirius had long since lost track of his exact age but knew he was at the very least six hundred years old. Maybe more. It didn’t matter. The portals were all that were important. Others had been sent forth as well and still others followed later, as was the case with Forest Malet.
Malet. The man’s choice for a human last name amused Sirius greatly. It meant cursed or unfortunate one. Apparently, Forest had a similar reaction when he’d been informed of his duties as a Gatekeeper as that of Aland and Sirius. None had been happy with the assignment but all had taken it. Earth wasn’t a place a Constellaziogēn found homey. It was polluted, loud, overpopulated and even more violent than Constellaziogēn. Nonetheless, it was the place he’d called home for centuries. It was Phoebe’s home.
As Sirius watched Phoebe sleeping peacefully, he suddenly found himself very happy he’d been selected as a Gatekeeper. Without the assignment he’d have never set foot on Earth. He’d have never been afforded the opportunity to meet his mate. A tiny piece of him wanted to make enough noise to wake Phoebe to be permitted to see her emerald green eyes staring up at him. He knew better though. Forest would sense him then and come running. He’d no doubt realize Sirius meant Phoebe no ill will but he would also understand who Phoebe was to Sirius. That wasn’t acceptable. No one could know. At least not yet. The idea of being forced to take a human as a mate simply because Forest had caught wind of it wasn’t something Sirius would let come to fruition.
The urge to lay claim to the woman before him was just that, a primal urge. He could fight it. He had to. The portals were too important for him to be sidetracked by the need to fuck a human even if the human was psychically advanced for her race. Phoebe had somehow figured out a way to infiltrate his dreams. He hadn’t been able to see her in them, but he could feel her, feel what she was doing to him. She’d not hesitated to touch him intimately. She’d kissed her way down his body and the second she went to undo his jeans, she’d been ripped away from him.
Sirius had spent the greater part of the day with a raging hard-on and a sick feeling in the pit of his gut. He shared her cousin’s fear that something bad was about to happen to Phoebe. From what he could gather, something bad had happened. There was no doubt in his mind that another Constellaziogēn had attempted to abduct her. She was exactly what the renegade group of warriors was after—young, beautiful, true to the Pisces sign she was born under and connected to his race mystically. She’d long since had the ability to reach out telepathically and touch Sirius’ mind. That in itself was nearly unheard of for someone outside their race.
He stared down at her. The need to touch her was great. So much so that he found himself edging closer to her bed.
Just one small touch. Just to know she’s okay.
It was so much more than that and Sirius knew it. He also knew he’d never be satisfied with just one touch of her luscious skin. She’d become an addiction he didn’t wish to have.
I’m a warrior, bred to be strong. She’s human. She means nothing to me.
Lies.
As his finge
rs skimmed her smooth cheek, he felt his resolve crumble and his cock twitch. Phoebe smelled of bergamot and vanilla—fresh, citrusy, slightly floral and all too delicious. He could almost taste her cunt upon his lips. Before Sirius knew it, he had his magik up and over her, caressing her as he longed to do with his hands. He used his power to magikally stroke his cock through his jeans as well, wishing it was her mouth over him or her pussy taking him deep.
She moaned and rolled onto her back. Her ample breasts heaved as she arched her back. The smell of her arousal spurred him on. How something so pure, so perfect could be his still amazed him. Sirius’ magik slid over her mound, eased her velvety folds open and left his cock digging painfully into his jeans. His fingers trembled as the need to replace his magik with them struck.
“Une zeena, you have power over me like no other,” he whispered. The woman slept in next to nothing, only serving to drive him mad with need. It was easy to envision her spread out before him, eyes ablaze, lips swollen from his kisses and breathing shallow. Sirius could imagine Phoebe arching her back, welcoming him into her silken depths. Her cunt was tight. He knew as much from using his magik to please her. He also knew she hungered for his touch, his body, almost as much as he hungered for hers.
Sirius closed his eyes and wished for the first time in his life that the truth wasn’t what he knew it was. That Phoebe Fisher wasn’t his mate. Maybe, if that were true, it would lessen the pull she had over him. Before he’d seen her, it had been hard to stay away. Now that he’d laid eyes on her, touched her, drew in her scent, Sirius knew cutting her out of his life was impossible.
His heated gaze slid down her body and he willed himself to refrain from touching her. “Une zeena.”
“She’s not your wife until the ritual is complete and if you aren’t planning on putting her under your protection, get out of her life,” Forest said, his voice so low Sirius was surprised he could even hear him. The man shouldn’t have been able to sneak up on him, but he had.
Mandy M. Roth Page 3
