by Iris Abbott
“Wasn’t planning to,” he managed to get out between heated kisses. He backed her against the door and used one hand to slide the keycard into its slot. The lock sprang open with a soft clicking sound. Phillip turned the knob and pushed open the door. They both stumbled inside and over the threshold. Phillip used his excellent sense of balance to keep them upright. He barely had enough thought left to reset the security system. He did manage however to punch in the right code to disarm and then reset the alarm.
He wrapped his arms securely around Selena, holding her in place. She let go of him, grabbed the hem of the black mini dress, and whipped it over her head. He welcomed the feel of her heated flesh as it moved against him, creating delicious friction in its wake on his already overly sensitive skin.
Phillip sucked in a deep breath when Selena yanked off her costume, baring most of her beautiful body for his eager eyes. All coherent thought left his brain, and the master bedroom that was just down the hall seemed a million miles away. He was struck by inspiration when his gaze came to rest on the wall of floor to ceiling windows. He’d just discovered another plus to living in the penthouse of the tallest building in the town center of Enigma.
“Maybe you’ll get to see the view tonight after all.” He pressed her back against the glass so that his hands were now free to explore and caress her newly exposed skin. She was all strawberries and cream, and rose petal soft, breathtakingly beautiful even to a jaded guardian like him. And he knew if he didn’t make love to her right there, he’d die a slow and painful death.
Selena’s passion-glazed eyes jerked open when her skin came into contact with the smooth but cool bite of the glass behind her. He flashed her a wicked grin before using his mouth and tongue to leave moist trails all over her body. He dipped into crevices and lingered over sweet spots.
Her nipples pebbled, encouraging him to keep going. He’d never felt such overwhelming urge to possess someone before. He didn’t think the fire was going to burn out anytime soon.
Phillip unclasped the front closure of the lacy black bra she wore and watched as the straps slowly lowered down her arms. The bra opened to expose the aroused points of her nipples. He lowered his head and sucked one firm bud into the warm cavity of his mouth. He used his tongue to make tight circles around the nipple, and then he teased the center of the bud with a fast whip-like motion.
Selena let out a moan of approval. She tried to burrow closer to his body. Her moist cleft nudged against the hard steel of his rapidly increasing erection. She sucked in a deep and sudden burst of air. One of her hands left his hair and tangled into the band of the black briefs he wore.
She tugged on his underwear, and Phillip decided to return the favor. He lavished attention on her second nipple, but he managed to use one hand to yank off the wispy scrap of silk covering the entrance to her feminine core. He felt his underwear drop, and he stepped out of and away from the bothersome piece of cotton. He didn’t want to have to worry about getting tangled up in them later on, because eventually, this would move to the bedroom.
Selena sighed when his erection sprang free from the material holding it in check. She grasped and caressed his aching sex before giving it a gentle squeeze. She broke out into a smile when Phillip groaned. “You like that do you?” She gave his erection one more tug before he took control.
She was driving him crazy, and he couldn’t wait anymore! Phillip moved aside her hand and replaced it with his own. He guided his erection toward her body. He rubbed it across the glistening bundle of nerves nestled above her moist heat.
Selena screamed. “Please, now, Phillip! Take me before I shatter into a million pieces!”
Phillip placed his sex at the opening of her core and thrust.
Her nether lips parted, allowing him to slide in deep. He moved his hips, and suddenly he was buried inside her. He felt the revealing tremors from her muscles warning that she was about to lose control.
She tightened her hold on him and met him thrust for thrust. Within five minutes, her entire body arched. Small tremors started and grew to the proportion of an avalanche. Her whole body shook as she reached the pinnacle of pleasure. She came screaming his name.
Her muscles squeezed him until Phillip thought he was going to burst. He gave one more thrust and then joined her in the fall from the top of the mountain of sensual gratification. He found the scar on her neck and bit down. She went limp in his arms. He carefully cradled her to him and then carried her to his bedroom. Her eyes were already closed in a sated sleep before her head came to rest on the pillow. He gently moved the tangled hair from her face, before joining her and pulling her into his arms.
THREE
“Ouch,” Selena rubbed the sore spot on her neck. It was almost eerie the way Phillip repeatedly gave her little love nips in the exact same spot where Syn bit her. She glared at the sated male beside her. “Of all the places to show your alpha side, you had to choose the one that already served as target practice for a set of scary teeth.”
Phillip had the nerve to grace her with a dimpled smile. She promptly picked up a pillow and flung it at his head.
He caught the offending lump of down feathers with a chuckle. Phillip quickly sobered and sat the pillow aside. “We need to have a serious conversation, Selena.”
Selena stiffened and moved to the edge of the bed. Uh oh, she thought. This is where he says it was fun, but one-night stands are his preferred mode of relations. She swung her legs over the edge of the raised platform bed without even glancing back at Phillip.
“Look, it’s no big deal, I understand. I’ll just get my things and get out of here. Don’t worry about seeing me home. I’ll just use my phone to call a cab.” She started to stand, but Phillip silently moved behind her and wrapped a firm arm around her waist to keep her from leaving.
“What happened to that no-fail witch’s intuition of yours? I have no intention of calling it quits between us.” He gave her an injured look. “And I don’t do one-night stands. I’m very particular about whom I share my body with, and by the way, you’re the only woman I’ve ever brought to the penthouse. I’m fanatical about security and with good reason as you’re about to learn.”
Selena warmed at his words. It really didn’t sound like a one-night stand. “Okay, well, you have the world might be ending tomorrow kind of look on your face, so what could be so dire after the best night of my life.”
The rest of his words penetrated the passion-hazed fringes of her mind. “What a minute! Just because I was dressed as a witch for Halloween doesn’t mean anything. Enough with the witch jokes already.” It still paid to be cautious. Phillip might be her soul mate, but that didn’t mean she had to give away all of her secrets anytime soon.
Phillip sat up until his spine was ramrod straight. He turned so that they were looking straight into each other’s eyes. “You can cut the ‘What me? I’m not a witch’, routine Selena. I know all about witches and all the other paranormal beings that exist too.”
He looked deep into her eyes, and she could see how serious he was. “I’m one of the guardians, so it’s my duty to know all about the extraordinary residents of Enigma and the rest of the world.” He paused, and she tried to process his strange words.
Selena ran a hand through her tousled blond locks. She’d always imagined that if she found that special someone, he would be doubtful about her claim of being a witch and her ability to cast spells. The man in front of her was telling her not only did he know she was a witch before she even confessed, but that there were other paranormal beings out there too. “Umm, what type of paranormal beings, and what exactly is a guardian?”
She absently rubbed her neck again as she remembered his many love bites. Her eyes involuntarily widened. “You’re not a vampire are you?” She couldn’t help the horrified tone of her voice.
He chuckled. “No, I’m not a vampire, but they do exist. As a matter of fact, the host of tonight’s party is a vampire, and if I’m not mistaken, he and your frie
nd Julie were rather taken with each other. I’m pretty sure she was making her way upstairs with him about the same time we left.”
Selena jumped off the bed and began scrambling into her clothes. “What! Why didn’t you say something sooner! I’ve got to help her.” She glared at Phillip. “And it better not be too late. I can’t believe we were making love while one of my best friends was possibly in mortal danger.” She placed both hands on her hips and stared him straight in the eyes. “And she better not have been turned into a vampire either!”
Phillip calmly walked around to Selena’s side. The dress was halfway down her body, but he grasped the hem and yanked it back over her head. “Julie’s not in any danger. I don’t know Russo very well, but his reputation among the guardians is flawless. You are born a vampire, or you’re not, just like witches. And by the way, all vampires are male. So you don’t have to worry about her being changed into one either.”
Selena took a deep breath. She needed to be calm. She wanted her concentration to be one hundred percent for this conversation. Selena had a feeling it was going to be life-altering. She was curious as to what else was out there, but first things first.
“You said you were a guardian. What exactly does that mean?” The butterflies were back. They were threatening to take up permanent residence in her belly.
Phillip led her back to the bed, and they both sat down on the edge. “Guardians are responsible for the wellbeing of the mystical universe. We must make sure that supernatural beings are able to live in harmony side by side with humans. We seek to maintain a balance between the two. Guardians are also the law enforcers of the paranormal world.”
She didn’t interrupt, and he kept talking. “Our mission is twofold. We protect humans by making sure they are not harmed by paranormal beings for any reason other than self-defense. We also protect paranormal beings by keeping their existence a secret from humans. Both of those require guardians to take out rogues that refuse to conform to the rules set in place by the council. After all, they exist to keep all living beings safe.”
This was a lot for Selena to take in, but so far it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. There was nothing wrong with law enforcement as a career, except for the danger factor of course. “Dispensing justice to a vampire sounds dangerous.” She shuddered as just the thought.
Phillip shrugged. “Guardians were blessed by the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt, and we literally have nine lives. As long as we aren’t burned to ashes or our head completely severed from our body, we can recover from anything else. That comes in handy when you’re battling paranormal creatures consumed by evil, greed, bloodlust or any combination of the three.” He stopped when he heard the swift intake of breath from Selena.
“It’s a lot to take in, but I want to know more!”
“A minor Mesopotamian god created vampires, wolf shifters, and falcon shifters in a fit of rage and spite. A goddess worshiped by the ancient Egyptians wanted to make sure her loyal followers were protected from these strange new beings that would eventually procreate and increase in number. She was the goddess of justice and execution and was often depicted as having the head of a lion. She decided to create new beings of her own to serve as protectors. She chose the already revered and very useful domestic cat as her model.”
Selena looked at him really hard. She took in the dark stubble on his chin, his magnificent yellow eyes, and the rest of his heavily muscled yet graceful body. “Are you trying to tell me you’re a cat shifter descended from these protectors?”
Phillip smiled. “I am a second-generation cat shifter. My father was one of the original cat shifters created by the ancient Egyptian goddess.”
“Umm, just how old are you?”
Phillip laughed at the look of consternation on her face. “I’m over five hundred years old, but don’t worry. I’m only on life number three!”
“Oh,” she crinkled her brow and tried her best to swallow down the small lump that formed in her throat. The thought that something horrible must have happened to Phillip at least twice filled her with a deep sorrow she never experienced before. It was like a lead weight had settled in the bottom of her stomach and weighed down her spirit. “That means you’ve died twice already?”
Phillip nodded. “That’s true. I’ll be more than happy to talk about the circumstances leading up to those deaths some other time. Right now, we need to focus on the basics. There’s a lot you need to know if you’re going to be a part of my life.”
Selena rubbed a hand over suddenly stinging eyes. Her fingers came away wet, and she realized tears were leaking from the corner of both eyes. She took a deep breath. Selena didn’t want Phillip to think she was a weakling who couldn’t handle all the information he told her. Most of all, she didn’t want him to regret sharing so much of his life with her.
Phillip continued to talk. “And I think we both know that’s a given. We were made for each other, and there’s no turning back. The mated souls spell you took part in drew me to you, and I took care of the rest. I was compelled to claim you right away.” He reached out and tenderly rubbed the small bite scar on the side of her neck.
Selena’s eyes grew big, and she jerked back out of his reach. “You’re Syn!” The accusation was out before she could stop it.
“Yes. The mystical universe heard and heeded the mated souls spell cast by you and your friends. I was sent by the council to keep an eye on the three of you until the spell could be fulfilled. As soon as you touched me, I knew fate planned for us to meet. That’s why I was the one given this assignment even though five council members live in or around Enigma.”
“So you bit me,” she accused with a glare!
“Of course,” he nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. “I knew I couldn’t fully claim you until Halloween, and I didn’t want anyone else getting ideas about you.”
“What’s the council?” She’d heard him use that word a couple of times now.
“It’s the governing body of the paranormal world. It’s made up of the twenty oldest cat shifters in the world.”
Selena crinkled her forehead. “And you’re a member of this council?”
Phillip nodded his agreement.
They sat in silence for two full minutes. Phillip was patiently giving her time to absorb the incredible information he’d already shared with her. Selena struggled to put it all together and tried to figure out how this would affect her life from now on. Finally, she let out a heart-wrenching sigh.
“Phillip, this isn’t going to work. Soul mates or not, it just isn’t going to work. You’re already five hundred years old and will probably live several more centuries. Witches are supernatural, but we are not immortal nor do we have more than one life. I don’t want you to see me grow old and die.” She sadly turned away from him.
“Actually, our saliva has special healing agents much like the blood of vampires. Ever since I bit you and injected some of my own saliva into your body, it’s been working to heal any damage internally. It all but stops you from aging. Barring any catastrophic injuries, you will live as long as I do. Over the centuries my kind has found that the bite only has to be repeated every month to continue the healing and anti-aging processes.”
Selena fell backward onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. The more he talked, the more complicated things got. She needed to step back maybe learn something less personal until her mind had a chance to process everything. He reclined on the bed next to her. She turned on her side until they were facing each other. “I know there are cat shifters and vampires. You also mentioned wolf shifters and falcon shifters. What else is out there, and have I ever met any of these paranormal beings?”
“Enigma,” he began to explain, “is aptly named. Paranormal beings have been drawn here since the beginning of time. You have probably crossed paths with several and not even known it.”
She wrinkled her nose. If there was anything Selena hated, it was to be left in the dark. Just thinking about going throu
gh life for twenty-six years and not knowing that any of these extraordinary beings existed boggled her mind. “What about tonight at the Halloween party?” She let out a giggle. “We girls had the urge to go to the party dressed as witches. We thought it was the ultimate inside joke to dress as witches at a costume party. Who else was thinking along those same wavelengths?”
Phillip absently rubbed his chin as if hard in thought. “Well, Mitch Gannon the man who greeted us at my car is a wolf shifter. He’s the alpha wolf in Enigma.”
“Ah, I knew something was up with those canine-like teeth he flashed at me when he smiled. What else?”
He smiled at her eagerness. “There were no plain Homo sapiens at the party tonight. Everyone there was paranormal. Security would have kept anyone who didn’t belong away from the castle. There were a handful of vampires, a falcon shifter, an eagle shifter, a couple of mermen, a few Greek gods and goddesses, and all the men working security are a part of Gannon’s pack. Oh, and I almost forgot, Santa put in an appearance this year.”
Selena remembered glimpsing what she thought was a man dressed as a Caribbean Santa Claus. Her eyes grew as big as saucers, “you mean there really is a Santa Claus?”
Phillip took in her look of wonderment. “He delegates most of his work to parents and other unknowing Santa’s helpers these days, but he still handles some Christmas wishes. Those things that people refer to as true Christmas miracles probably originated from Saint Nick himself.”
“So I can’t blame Santa for not getting the doll I really wanted when I was five years old?”
“That’s right,” Phillip agreed. “He was probably saving someone’s life or reuniting soul mates who’d stumbled along the way on the path to true happiness. He and the Greek goddess Athena looked deep in conversation when I noticed him. I wouldn’t be surprised if the two of them didn’t work some kind of magic for some unsuspecting person or people this holiday season.”
