The Forgotten

by Marly Mathews

“Then you shall have the morning to yourself, if that is what you need.”

  She stood up on her tiptoes, and grazed his lips gently with her own. They both started at the magical jolt that shot through both of their bodies.

  “By the Gods, I’ve never felt that before when I kissed a man.” Her voice shook with the emotional intensity and her eyes filled with a raw hunger he’d never seen before. She wanted him, he could see that quite clearly and he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted to claim any other woman.

  He swept her off her feet and held her cradled in his arms.

  “That’s because, you’ve never shared a true love’s kiss,” he murmured huskily, carrying her over to the bed and setting her tenderly down upon it.

  When he next looked down at her, apprehension danced in her eyes. She wanted him and yet something warred against the idea. He knew why she wanted to keep him at an arms-length. She feared having a man hurt her again.

  “I am not Ryn, or Glen,” he stated. “I will never hurt you, Nerienda.” Using her full name seemed to break past the shield she’d erected around herself.

  “I am not afraid of you. I am afraid of myself. I tend to wreck everything and everyone around me. As soon as I care dearly for anyone I have them ripped out of my life as a ripple effect from something I did wrong. That’s why when everything went south here, I told Rhiannon to leave. I couldn’t bear her to get caught in a pickle of my own making.

  Anyone I’ve ever loved seems to get hurt. I’ve made so many mistakes—mistakes I would give all of my lives to right, and with all of the magic in Shardizar and Avonry I will forever be denied my true heart’s desire.”

  “You can’t change the past, my love.”

  “I know, I’ve tried,” she admitted. “No Mage in Shardizar will attempt it fearing that the world will be changed for the worse, not the better. I want you to love me tonight, Lucan. I want you to show me what real love feels like.”

  “It would be my pleasure,” he murmured. “And yours, too, come to think of it.” He flashed her that heart-stopping smile again, and made her spirit soar.

  No matter what happened tomorrow, she would always cherish the time they had together tonight. She would bask in Lucan’s love, and she would pray to the Gods that she could remain worthy of such a gift and in turn—she prayed she could love him as much as he loved her.

  Chapter Twelve

  Lucan kissed her softly, so much tenderness carried through his kiss. Before she could check herself, she let out a noise frightfully resembling a purr, and she broke away from him entirely shocked at what she’d just done. He would now know she was a Feline Changeling, there was no reason for her to be so bashful and yet—whenever she let someone see what resided deep within her, she was vulnerable.

  Could she trust him enough to open herself to him? Could she do what she was unwilling to do with so many other people? Could she lower her guard and let him see what she allowed no one else to see?

  “So, you’re a Feline Changeling,” he said smiling brilliantly. “It makes sense now that I think about it.”

  “How do you think you’ll fare sharing your life with a Feline Changeling? You have a wolf hidden within your soul, Lucan. ”

  “The wolf loves the kitty residing deep within you, my darling.” His eyes lit with realization. “That first day, the day when I killed that bloody bastard, Ramsey, you were there, weren’t you? You were the sweet little blue Tabby, weren’t you?”

  She was caught off guard by his question. There was no reason to evade his questioning. There was no reason to bandy about the bush.

  “Yes. I was that cat.”

  His eyes filled with happiness. “You’re so cute in your kitten form. It isn’t any wonder though, considering how beautiful you are in your human form.”

  Should she confess all to him? Should she tell him that she could change into a Purple Panthera as well? Would he be able to resign himself to living with such a dangerous kitty cat or would it just be better to let him think she was a docile little soul filled with sugar and only a small amount of vinegar?

  “You were their savior. I wouldn’t have arrived in time even with my magic helping me get their faster than most could.”

  She might as well hint at it, even if she couldn’t bring herself to actually admit that that sort of a monster was hidden deep within her. She wasn’t a real threat in her Purple Panthera form, she did retain her humanity, and therefore was tame when she wanted to be.

  “I have a wildness inside of me, Lucan, much like the wild wolf residing inside of you. It can make itself known whenever I feel threatened.”

  “Whatever you have inside of you, I will accept gladly. I have no reason to think ill of you because you’re a Feline Changeling.”

  Well that was cleared between them. Now she had to broach the subject that just might be the deal breaker, though if he was telling the truth and he loved her as deeply as he claimed—he wouldn’t have an issue with it.

  “What about my Hunter blood? You know about it and don’t seem to have an issue with it but I have to know, can you face a lifetime with someone that has Hunter blood no matter how thinned out it might be, if we have children, one of our children might have the talent—they might be imbued with the Hunter instinct—could you live with it if they had that talent? My Rhiannon has it. I’ve seen it in her whenever she was angry. It consumed her. I don’t fear for her safety because of that and the fact that she inherited some terrible gifts from me and her father and yet—I know that she could one day be persecuted because of it. I’ve already told Ava that she and I support her cause and will fight for the Hunters no matter what. We will fight to defend Shardizar to the end even if it’s not our homeland. Although to be fair, Rhiannon was born here, so I guess she’s just as much a subject of Shardizar as you are.”

  He looked at her long and hard, his eyes were dancing, telling her that he wasn’t worried by the thought at all. Why he was holding her off on giving her his answer was beyond her.

  “I would expect one of my children to have the Hunter or Huntress blood within them. I mean it would be the kind of trick fate would play on me—and I’ve seen the good in the Hunter souls and I’ve seen the bad—I would like to think that our union would produce one of the good ones.”

  Her heart warmed. The sexual tension between them crackled through the air. She needed to let him hold her and make love to her. She’d been too long without a man that knew how to give and not just take.

  Ryn had been a proficient lover, much better than Glen she was loathe to admit, and yet, she knew she’d still missed out on something with Ryn because he hadn’t truly loved her. To him, she was his duty, and tricking herself into believing that she’d ever been anything else to him had been a disservice to him—and to her.

  Pulling away from him, she moved to the edge of the bed, and put her feet down on the floor. Kicking her slippers off, she turned back to him, and drank in the moment they were sharing. His dark brown eyes continued sparking with the flames of his desire.

  She pulled her dress up over her head, and stood in her black chemise. His eyes had a ruby hue to them now as his desire hit an all-time high. He almost had a feral glint in his eyes, and she was afraid for one split second that he just might shift before her.

  “Let me,” he said huskily, standing up, he came over to her and tenderly placed his hands on her shoulders. Shockwaves ricocheted through her as his hands touched her skin. He slowly ran his fingers down both her arms, stopping to clasp her hands with his own. He brought her right hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it, then, he slowly turned it over, and kissed the palm of her hand, making another shiver rock through her body. He looked in consternation at her palm. “I’ve never seen such a long lifeline,” he murmured, locking gazes with her.

  She laughed giddily, his touch still affected her deeply. She wanted him to put his hands all over her body—she wanted him to touch every single inch of her.

  “That would be
the kitty inside of me—call it my nine lives,” she murmured. Recognition dawned in his brown eyes.

  “Ah, I understand. That’s why you wanted to know about the longevity of my kind. You wanted to know how long you’d be able to spend your life with me.”

  She looked away from him. She couldn’t imagine not having him with her. She wouldn’t allow him to fall prey to the shroud of death—she would share her lifetimes with him before letting him slip away.

  Raising her hand to his left cheek, she flattened it against his skin, relishing the feeling of his rough bristle on his face as he hadn’t used a razor in a while.

  “I won’t let you die without me,” she murmured softly. “This life keeps taking from me, now that I’ve found you, I’ll be damned if I’ll let you go before me.” She moved into his embrace, and they stood for two minutes, locked together, while she took comfort in the steady pace of his heartbeat.

  When he kissed the top of her head, she let out a soft little purr, and drew away from her. Her nipples were taunt against the soft material of her chemise. “I want you to touch me, kiss me and make me yours,” she murmured softly, looking earnestly up into his eyes.

  He took that as his invitation and slowly drew her chemise up over her head. Once he’d freed her of it, he tossed it on the nearby chair.

  He sucked in a lungful of air, as his eyes roved greedily over her bare body.

  “I got a glimpse of your beautiful physique earlier when you got dressed in front of me. I like this view better, I like seeing all of you,” he murmured, the deep tone of his voice made liquid fire course through her belly.

  She could already feel her desire running through her. She was already ready to take him, and she wanted to so desperately, she almost wanted to ask him to forego all of the before stuff so they could get right to joining their bodies.

  He, on the other hand, seemed to have other ideas. He picked her up in his arms and carried her back to the bed.

  His Alpha Wolf and her Queen Cat were going to war for dominance, she could see that. She smiled as the titillating thoughts entered her mind. She wondered if he would like being on the bottom, or if she’d have to fight tooth and nail to gain that position.

  “You look like you’re laughing at a joke you failed to share with me,” he mused, as she found herself on her back in front of him. He still wore his trousers, she wanted him to take them off so he’d be just as naked as she was.

  “I was just thinking about how we might clash beneath the sheets. You might always want to be the dominant one, and I like being the one on top from time to time.”

  “Well, you’d think wrong, darling. I will do whatever you want when it comes to our lovemaking. After all of the years I endured in that hell of Avalona Cecil’s making, I discovered a few basic truths about myself and vowed that if I ever got out of there alive that I would never return to my entirely selfish ways. I forsook them in that enchanted forest, and I’m not about to go back on the promise I made to myself. I wanted to be happy and decided that if I was ever fortunate enough to find a woman who would love me for all that I had been through that I would not be a selfish or controlling kind of lover.

  I couldn’t stand the one woman I found back at the Palace to sate my carnal needs—she was pretty boring in bed though. She always had to have the lights dimmed low and never wanted to be completely naked with me. I knew I couldn’t live a life of fulfillment with her.”

  “I can assure you of one thing, I am not that woman. I want you, Lucan. Let’s forget about everything and everyone else and just bask in the glorious moments we have right now, here tonight.”

  He let out a husky growl, and rid himself of his trousers. He was just as ready for what was going to happen between them as she was.

  “Next time,” he murmured, as he climbed onto the bed with her, “next time, you get to be on top, but this time—I’m going to give you the full body treatment.”

  She was going to ask him what he meant, when he decided to show her instead. He kissed her hungrily on her mouth, darting his tongue into her hot cavern and making her moan against him. Then he left her mouth and kissed down her neck, sucking at the side of her neck so hard she knew it would definitely leave an imprint. When his teeth grazed her neck and then bit into her, she arched up on the bed. “What was that for?” she muttered, as he kissed the raw skin around the mark he’d made.

  “Call it a love bite, it’s something we always do when we claim our mate.”

  “I take it you didn’t bite the lady back at the Palace?”

  “Hell, no,” he muttered, running his hand down the valley between her heaving breasts. “Those nipples look like ripe juicy wild berries waiting for me to taste them,” he murmured. She was writhing on the bed, she wanted what he was holding off, and though she understood why he was taking it slow, she wanted him to desperately give her what she yearned for.

  “Go ahead and get your fill,” she murmured, as he cupped her left breast with his hand.

  “Well, it does fill my hand quite well. You seem to be made just for me,” he mused.

  She laughed. “Maybe I was,” she murmured, as his touch made her nipples pucker. He seemed satisfied with that reaction and feasted his mouth on her, sucking and kissing. She was so wet, and he was so hot. She could feel his body temperature rising. Reaching out for him, she grasped at his shoulders, and pulled him so he was straddling her body, and supporting his weight on his arms.

  Masterfully balancing his weight on one arm, he reached down and touched her most intimate spot. That touch made her almost arch right off the bed. She stretched her feet out and lifted her one leg so it was looped over his leg.

  “I want you so badly,” she murmured, as he touched her lightly again on her mound and then made her inhale sharply when he teased her opening with one of his fingers. She wanted more, she wanted him to fill her in a way she hadn’t been filled for such a long time. She was a starved woman and she wanted her hunger sated! He’d gone for a long time without the touch of a woman and yet, he was better off than she was, he at least had that idiotic woman back at the Palace to tend to his needs, and right now, right now, she needed him to do that for her.

  “Take me and make me scream out in ecstasy, Lucan,” she said, her voice guttural with need.

  He must have taken the hint from her desperate tone for he kissed her belly and then kissed her chin, taking one brief moment to stare deeply into her eyes as he loomed above her. She committed the moment to memory, never wanting to forget just how handsome he looked in his state of arousal.

  She moved her hands down the length of his body, stopping at his lower back.

  “Lucan, I want you, so by the Gods, give me what I desire.”

  He needed no further invitation. His mouth claimed hers as he thrust deeply inside of her. She grabbed at his ass, trying to urge him deeper inside of her.

  “You’ve got all of me, my love,” he murmured against her lips.

  Lucan felt as if he’d finally found his home.

  Neri was his perfect match—she fit him so perfectly. Her muscles flexing around his member was enough to almost make him lose control. He wanted to let the animal inside of him loose and pound her into oblivion, and though he knew she wanted a taste of that kind of lovemaking, he didn’t want to give it to her on their first joining. He wanted her to remember this night with fondness—he wanted her to remember him as a thoughtful, kind and considerate lover, not a mad lust driven brute!

  And yet, he had to reign himself in, and as she dug her fingernails into his lower back and top of his buttocks, he very nearly lost himself.

  “I want to drive us both into a delightful oblivion,” he muttered, wondering how she would react.

  “Oh, yes, please,” she murmured, wrapping her legs around him so she was almost holding him in place. He didn’t think her strength equalled his, but then again, maybe it did.

  “You can take off the training gauntlets, Lucan, I’m not fragile, nor am I an inno
cent, I won’t break, and I would like it a little rough this first time between us. I feel the wildcat inside of me crying out for it, and you look like the wolf inside of you wants to rise to the occasion. Let it loose, Lucan. I give you leave to do it.”

  He took her permission to heart, and let the wolf inside of him howl, as he let out a holler that quite resembled a wolf’s howl and started to thrust in and out of her much faster and harder than he had originally wanted to permit himself to do. He stopped briefly when he was seated as deeply inside of her as he could go. The muscles of her channel gripped him like a vise and he could tell by her rapid breathing and the way her muscles clenched him that she was close to her release, and he would follow her fairly quickly, he just hoped he made it so she would find climax first.

  “By the Gods, I’m going to shatter into a million pieces,” she cried, as his thrusts moved into a maddening pace.

  She shattered around him, her muscles clenching and unclenching as he too strove for his release. He screamed out her name as he came inside of her, and his body continued to shudder as she milked him for all that he was worth. They laid together for a few silent minutes. She sighed deliciously, as he rolled to his side and pulled her in close.

  “I want more,” she whispered, eying him hungrily.

  He laughed. “I think we’re going to keep going all night long,” he murmured.

  “That’s the one benefit of having being a Feline Changeling. I don’t require much sleep, at least not when I have other things to occupy my time.”

  “Are you going to be a naughty kitty?”

  She stroked his chest up and down and allowed her hand to dip low over his member. “I think this is going to be my new favourite…”

  “Careful,” he murmured, rolling over so she was once again pinned beneath him.

  “Why should I be careful?”

  “Because, dear heart, the big bad wolf is about to come and get you.” She giggled as they wrestled together on the large bed. She wanted what she wanted, and he wanted what he wanted.