Sandovar let out a gasp that she at first assumed was due to their public display of affection. But a warm glow surrounded them, and she opened her eyes to see that the aura of his wings, while faded since the last time, was again shimmering with golden light.
How long would the phantom wings retain such an aura? She wondered. She found herself wondering a lot of things, all the questions she’d pondered when her mystery angel had first vanished.
“Jorandil,” she said against his mouth once he had relaxed his hold on her enough to allow words. “I shouldn’t ask anything more from you after all you’ve done, but there is one thing I want.”
The flicker in his gaze suggested something carnal that made her wish they were alone. “And what is your wish, fair maiden of Beltane?” he asked, pushing a strand of hair from her face.
“Can we, uh, talk sometime? I mean, I don’t know how things are done over here, but where I’m from, men and women are usually on more familiar terms before taking things to a physical level.”
He blinked in apparent confusion. “So you merely wish to...talk.”
She shrugged. “I want to know you, and I want you to get to know me.”
“Perhaps we all better get to know you,” Herne said, and she glanced up. “Since it seems doubtful that my son has gone to all the trouble of saving you just to send you on your way.”
Jorandil grunted while he pushed himself upright, bringing his face close to hers. “And how do you propose we go about this getting-to-know-you talk?”
He invaded her space until the notion of talk seemed unimportant. But it wasn’t. She considered his question and shrugged. “We could go on a date. It’s something we do in my world to see if two people are compatible.”
His gaze flicked to her lips. “Have we not determined that already?”
Sandovar cleared his throat.
“So, my Beltane maiden wishes me to make proper courting gestures.”
“Is that so terrible?”
The smile widened until her heart fluttered in dizzying happiness. “I could be persuaded.”
***
The bells rang out over the valley, reaching up to the hilltop where Jorandil was making a thorough study of Cadence’s college catalog for fall. She jumped up from the blanket they sat on and ran to the peak, looking out over the green, rolling landscape. Her hair shimmered in the light of approaching midsummer, drifting on a soft breeze. The white gown she wore, a garment from his realm, floated in the winds as well, and the sun pierced through the rough Andurian silk enough to see the silhouette of her bare legs up to the join between her thighs. His cock twitched one of its frequent reminders that it had been some weeks since he had sampled the sumptuous feast of her body.
It was of his own doing, becoming a gentleman and putting aside his lust during this stage of courtship. Their bodies would not align until the midsummer sabbat, when his brother would rise from the seas to claim a maiden of his own. Would he, too, fall under the spell that seemed to have enchanted his brothers? Living in the earthen seas, Devinmar had little contact with the Counsel of Sabbats. He hadn’t crossed the veil to attend any of the Thousand Seasons celebrations, nor was he likely to. He had no idea what powers awaited him when he crested the waves to do his duty. Then again, Jorandil hadn’t truly understood what awaited him even when he had seen it coming.
“The bells sound like the finest crystal,” Cadence said, breaking into his thoughts. “So many pure tones that go right through me. It’s unearthly.”
His lip twitched with a grin. “As we are not on Earth at the moment, that should go without saying.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. “Such a sense of humor you angels have.” She turned back. “Seriously though. It’s beautiful.”
He rose and wandered beside her, hands on his hips as he listened to the clear ring. “It is done. The new god of Beltane has accepted his call and will begin his season of purification.”
She glanced up at him, her mouth setting in a line that he had come to find meant she was concerned. “Are you all right with that?”
The bells chimed again, and the tone—along with its meaning—resonated through his chest. “My younger brother was a prudent choice. I foresee he will be a dedicated sabbat keeper.”
She brushed her arm against his, and the contact sent a pang of need through him. “Yes, but are you all right? You’ve sacrificed so much. And being the god of Beltane was important to you. It was your life. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for that to change.”
True. In the first days following the death of Costeros, when the fact of his loss settled into his marrow, he experienced a physical ache—in his wings that no longer existed, in his spirit where he had given up his call. In his body, where he had suffered the absence of Cadence’s hot, moist heat in a time when he would have most liked to lose himself in it.
Then he had found something else.
The next toll subsided, and he let out a sigh. “It does not do to dwell on how much has emptied from one’s cup. I find it better to focus on what remains, and what one can gain by looking ahead.” He crooked a finger under her chin. “Although I did not think I could be this content being around a woman whose bed I am no longer in.”
“Temporarily,” she said with a teasing frown. “We agreed to spend some time getting to know one another before giving in to our baser urges.”
He leaned closer. “And just how urgent do you feel about me?”
She swayed on her feet, and he smiled to himself. “Why, sir,” she said, batting her lashes, “please don’t try and corrupt me so.”
“I believe I was in error to suggest waiting until the sabbat of Litha,” he said.
“Midsummer is just a week and half away.” Her voice took on a low, seductive tone. “Surely you can hold out that long.”
His cock stiffened, suggesting otherwise.
She pulled away and sauntered back to the blanket, holding her gown up so she did not trip in her bare feet. “Or has listening to me talk these past weeks bored you so badly that there is nothing left to entice you but chemistry?”
He caught up with her and slipped a hand around her waist. “On the contrary. Getting to know you has only served to entice me more.”
He kissed her, and not in the chaste, reserved way he had allowed during their courtship. His hunger was clear, his weakening resolve obvious in the bulge throbbing in his tight leggings. If only he could rub her against that hard length, lay her down in the grass and make an end of their self-imposed chastity.
She gave a most gratifying murmur of pleasure, but placed a hand on his chest and pushed him back. She eyed him and shook her head. “This is why our dating life has to be restricted to your realm. My effect on you is something out of my world.”
He knew the shimmering outline was visible even before he glanced to the side. He could feel the warm energy shooting through the phantom wings. “I cannot help the way my body chooses to react to you. But I am sorry I have kept you away from your own world so much.”
“I’m not.” She spun around. “Look at this place. I used to sit on the train, daydreaming about someday getting out of the big city and finding wide open spaces. But I never even imagined anything could be as green and untouched as it is here. I’ll bet I wouldn’t find a single toxin in the soil.” She breathed deeply. “Or in the air. It’s so pure. If it wasn’t for school in the fall, you might have to shove me through the portal kicking and scratching.”
He took in a breath and picked up the course catalog. “About that. There is something my father suggested that would involve you, if you are willing to entertain it.”
“What is it?”
“He and I have discussed the spikes in my power, and how they are stirred by your presence. I wish to explore what I can do with that power.”
“You mean like experiment with it.”
“Yes.” He held up the book. “Call it an experiment in organic chemistry. Of course, as you have just pointed
out, such experimentation would best be conducted in my realm, where the appearance of my residual wings would not raise as many eyebrows.”
She smirked. “And what is your hypothesis for this science experiment?”
He put a finger to his lips and took on a mock serious expression. “I hypothesize that our combined energies can spark a chemical reaction that will allow me to perform feats of supernatural ability, such as healing arts or divination.”
“And you could use that power as a new sort of calling?”
He nodded.
“I think I’d like to be part of your research team,” she said. “Could I continue my other studies?”
“Of course. Although I’d say you’re already overqualified for this particular area of field work.”
She held out her hand, and he took it. She shook his with a firm grip. “Then we have a deal. We can do our research in my spare time while I finish out the remaining year of school.”
“I am inclined to celebrate our scientific union,” he said.
Her blue eyes twinkled in the bright light. “What kind of celebration? A toast to the cup half full?”
He took her hand and led her to the middle of the blanket. “I was thinking more of a test of our chemical compatibility.”
“It isn’t midsummer for another week and a half,” she said, yet she followed him and lowered herself to sit beside him.
“I may not be keeper of Beltane any longer, but I am still a god.” He pushed her shoulder gently to lay her down. “As a pagan god of the old ways, I hereby decree that our time of celibacy has come to an end.”
“You know what?” Her hands moved to the buttons of her bodice. “I think we’ve talked enough.”
Her eyes gazed up into his while she unbuttoned her gown, her fingers trembling until he moved to help. When he settled himself over her not long after, the desperate pounding of his heart in tune with her own, he thrust into her with a cry of triumph. He joined with Cadence while the bells rang out, chiming in perfect clarity the rhythm of his joy. Birds sang with the promise of a new era, and the glowing shimmer of his phantom wings sheltered them beneath the power of a god’s love for a woman.
*The End*
✯ ☆҉‿➹⁀☆҉☆ ✯ ☆҉‿➹⁀☆҉☆
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Read on for a look at the next tale- Devinmar: God of Litha:
ABOUT DEVINMAR: GOD OF LITHA:
She was saved from drowning by an act of god...a seductive, smoking hot god.
It is the time of Litha, and Devinmar, god of the sabbat, will rise from the sea to mate with a human female and unleash the powers of the deep. His visit to shore comes a day early, however, when he saves a stunning beauty from drowning under suspicious circumstances.
Hallie wakes up on a beach after being rescued by the most exotically gorgeous man she has ever seen. Believing Devinmar is an exceptional hunk of male is no stretch, but falling for his stories about selkie legends and pagan gods is something else. Still, she can’t help but give into the temptation of a sea god whose long hair, exquisite beauty, and intense stare beckons.
When Devinmar returns to make Hallie his sabbat consort, he discovers she has been taken by those responsible for her near drowning. Getting her back could mean failing in his duty to the sabbat, but he goes after her nevertheless. He’ll use the powers of the deep to make her safe again—even knowing that once their midsummer’s night has ended, he will be forced to leave her behind and return to the sea.
EXCERPT FROM DEVINMAR: GOD OF LITHA:
Devinmar was treading on dangerous territory, and he knew it. Still, his cock rose straight ahead, poking out of the crude kelp skirt Hallie’s modesty had required of him. His erection was pointed straight at the woman he was about to kiss. A foolish urge, no doubt fueled by the burning, pounding need in his body that bore proof of the nearness of the sabbat. Her beauty beckoned him as well, as did the heat in her gaze that was poorly hidden behind skepticism. The fingers that had brushed his chest had sealed her fate, although he might have stopped himself from that kiss had she not parted her lips for it when his head lowered. A clearer invitation could not have presented itself.
He brought his mouth down, and much as he wanted to thoroughly plunder hers, he barely allowed their lips to brush. Even that was a mistake. She sucked in a tiny breath, and he took hold of her shoulders, feeling the raging storm of desire, tasting the lust on her lips. His body began to quiver, and a telltale heat flared across his chest, along his arms, and straight down to the erection that was now pressed against her. The sabbat, he told himself. The sabbat, the sabbat.
He pulled away, his chest pounding, wishing he hadn’t undone himself while his body begged for more. It was not yet time to consummate the ritual. He had to remain chaste until the magic could be harnessed for Litha.
Hallie stood there, staring at him with her mouth agape. The stick holding the cooked fish had fallen to the ground beside her. Her pale brown eyes swept over his flesh, causing him to feel a prickle everywhere her gaze landed. “I...I saw it. I swear I did. The tattoo was spreading out, glowing. But it was only for a moment.”
He glanced down, but all he saw was the stiff, naked dick that she was trying to avoid staring at.
“Probably the mark began to activate because the sabbat is just hours away.” He looked up at her. “I’m sorry.”
“Why?” She took a faltering step closer. “You were telling the truth. About all of it. I’m the one who’s sorry.”
“There is no reason to be.”
“Tell me more about your ritual.” Her voice was sultry now, a low, silken whisper. It was as though the kiss had put her in a trance. “Please.”
He swallowed. “My sabbat is Litha, the time of midsummer. On the longest day of the year, I cross the veil between worlds to the realm of the gods, where I retrieve the artifact, the crystal rod of Kahau, and speak the prayer invoking the sabbat. I return and plunge to the depths of the sea, using the rod to gather dark energies for the ritual. I come ashore in human form, where I will find a female waiting for me to mate with her. The powers released will recharge the magic of many who believe, as well as send forth the dark energy needed for the return of shorter days.”
“And who is this female? The one waiting for you?”
“The sabbat consorts come from many places. One is chosen at random by the last vestiges of the previous midsummer’s magic. It draws her to the place where I will rise.”
“Like the way I was drawn here,” she whispered.
That stopped him. Never in his days, not even under the grinding sexual imperative of his sabbat, had Devinmar so desperately longed to shove a female down beneath him and claim her with ferocity. Not just for the explosion of climax that gathered in his balls, but to possess her, make her scream, make her beg for more. But he couldn’t humor such urges. Not when something as vital as the sabbat was at stake.
Read Devinmar: God of Litha
Titles in the Sons of Herne Series:
Book 1-Dominus: God of Yule (Nov 2015)
Book 2-Eradimus: God of Imbolc (Jan 2016)
Book 3- Tallisun: God of Ostara (Mar 2016)
Book 4- Jorandil: God of Beltane (Apr 2016)
Book 5- Devinmar: God of Litha (May 2016)
Book 6- Feillor: God of Lammas (Jul 2016)
Book 7- Anduron: God of Mabon (Aug 2016)
Book 8- Archipellus: God of Samhain (Sept 2016)
VISIT THE SERIES SITE:
HTTP://TINY.CC/SONSOFHERNESERIES
AUTHOR SITE:
HTTP://JROSEALLISTER.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. Rose Allister has penned over twenty-five novels and numerous short stories from her home in Southern California. She is a TV and movie buff, enjoys the bittersweet discord between the pursuit of chocolaty goodness and the benefits of a fresh, organically-influenced diet, and is a firm believer that daydreaming, people watching, coffee and chocolate
(preferably combined) are the greatest fuel for the writing imagination. She has more books in her to-be-read pile than she can ever hope to find time to sit and enjoy, but this never stops her from adding more.
Jorandil: God of Beltane (Sons of Herne, #4) Page 12
