by Bonnie Vanak
They drove back to the hotel, where he bought tropical drinks at the tiki bar, and they went onto the beach to watch the sun set. Xavier stood next to her as she sighed with pleasure at the corals, yellows, and oranges streaking the sky.
“So beautiful,” she murmured.
Indeed, he thought, staring at her. Breathtaking.
He had to stop this. Now.
When she finished her drink, he took her cup. “You should get some rest. Big day tomorrow,” he told her.
Ciara looked disappointed.
Not waiting for an answer, he put a hand on the small of her back, guiding her back to the hotel. At her door, he lifted her hand to his mouth and brushed her knuckles with a soft kiss.
“Good night, fair Ciara. I will see you tomorrow.”
He went into his room and closed the door, leaning against it, wondering why he shook so much. What was it about this Nymph that had him in knots?
Changing into a gray T-shirt and black sweatpants, he murmured a chant, calling upon Gideon and Tristan. He would need one of them over the next two days. Then he lay upon the bed, thumbing the remote and settling on a reality television show about Alaska. Xavier had some friends in Alaska, Lupine shifters who’d decided to live off the grid.
Thirty minutes after the show started, he heard a noise in the kitchen. Xavier glanced up, already knowing what had happened.
Using the connecting door he’d failed to lock, Ciara walked into his room. In a turquoise soft cotton T-shirt and matching sleep shorts, she looked uncertain. “I can’t sleep there alone. It’s too strange being alone in that room. May I join you and watch television a while?”
No. Go back to your room.
He patted the bed. “Come here.”
It was all very innocent. Right.
Ciara sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard. Then she yawned. She curled up next to him, resting her head on his chest. Soon she was asleep. Xavier put an arm around her.
He didn’t want to stay like this. Didn’t want her soft, warm body cuddling next to him. So tempting.
But he didn’t want her waking up alone in a strange hotel room, terrified and bewildered.
It’s my fault for not keeping an eye on her, he thought with regret. I should have paired her months ago with a male, let her grow accustomed to him, to the Skin world.
Xavier turned down the sound on the television, lest he wake her. She needed her rest.
Then he felt a tingle rush down his spine that signaled a surge of tremendous power.
Oh shit. Bad timing.
A puff of red smoke and silver, and Gideon, the Crimson Wizard, stood by the bed, along with Tristan. Xavier gently disentangled himself from Ciara.
“You were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago,” he told them.
“I had a hot date.” Gideon studied the sleeping Ciara. “But not as hot as yours. I have not seen a Nymph in several centuries and I’ve never seen an actual virgin nymph. She is quite exotic and alluring. This one will certainly have no trouble finding sexual partners.”
Ciara was not “this one.” Xavier seized his wrist as the Crimson Wizard leaned closer to Ciara. “Don’t touch.”
“Don’t like anyone playing with your toys, Xavier?” Gideon asked, his tone mildly amused.
“She’s in a very delicate position right now, and I don’t want her waking up and seeing you two monkeys staring at her as if she was in a zoo.”
“No, you wish to be the only monkey staring at her.” Tristan shook his head. “Have you selected a male to do the deed?”
“I have one of your cougar shifters arriving tomorrow for the task. Marc. He’s serviced Nymphs before.”
Tristan raised a brow. “Nymphs who are sexually experienced and enjoy alternative sex. Never a virgin. Are you certain about this?”
“I don’t have anyone else,” he admitted.
Tristan and Gideon gave him pointed looks then looked at Ciara.
“No,” he said, a little more firmly.
He didn’t want to do this. Oh, he was tempted, sorely tempted, but it would be a bad thing for her.
Tristan and Gideon stared at him. “Why not?” Tristan finally asked.
Xavier hooked his arms around his knees. “I would ruin her for anyone else.”
Gideon gave a short bark of laughter, but Tristan did not. He nodded. “I see your point. For you will give her an exquisite time in bed…”
“And then leave her,” Gideon finished. The Crimson Wizard looked weary and more cynical than usual. “It must be so.”
“Why did you call us here?” Tristan asked.
“I need one of you to cover my assignments for the next two days so I can attend to Ciara.” He gave them a hopeful look. “Unless you care to arrange for her sexual partner.”
Both Tristan and Gideon backed away as if he’d asked them to an orgy with Ogres. Xavier sighed. Ciara proved to be most tempting, and he suspected he should try to get away from her before he did something he’d regret.
“Two days?” Tristan asked. “It takes that long?”
Gideon shook his head. “That is a short time for a mating. Nymphs go into heat, and it lasts for a full week.”
The Silver Wizard blinked. “Seven days of nonstop sex?”
Gideon laughed. “Now you know why I asked to get rid of the Nymphs when Xavier joined the Brehon. I had my hands full.”
“And your dick full,” Xavier added.
Gideon scowled. “I did what I could to keep the peace.”
Xavier leaned against the headboard. “Is that what it was called back in the olden days?”
But Gideon did not smile. He tilted his head, as if listening to something. The Crimson Wizard stared into the distance, and then his expression smoothed out. Xavier knew what had happened. He’d seen Gideon go into an almost trancelike state when he divined the future.
“I will take over your duties,” Gideon said. “You may be quite busy for the next two days.”
“Why?” he demanded.
But Gideon did not offer any other information.
Like the other wizards, he could not foresee his own fate. He didn’t like the sly smile Gideon sported.
I can’t get involved with Ciara. I will break her heart. And for the first time in centuries, he cared about someone else’s heart. His had been shattered long ago by Andromeda and had no hopes of repair. When Andromeda had betrayed him, he’d quietly decided he would never love again.
Love hurt, and he had too many responsibilities.
“Fine. Thank you.” He glanced at Tristan, who looked deeply troubled. “What’s wrong? Nikita?”
The Silver Wizard sighed. “All will be well, in the end.” He fell silent and his gaze landed on the sleeping Ciara. “The price we pay for love is often suffering.”
Xavier agreed. “I need you to check on something for me, Tristan.”
He told him, and the Silver Wizard nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”
Then Tristan waved a hand and vanished.
Gideon looked at him pensively. “Careful, X. Guard your heart.”
Then he, too, vanished.
Guard your heart. He’d heard that before. I have no heart to guard.
But he suspected that was not true, for this delicate nymph, with her energy and sweet smile, had him instantly smitten.
Xavier stretched out upon the bed. He did not require sleep. He was immortal. Still, he closed his eyes, grateful for the opportunity to rest and be freed from his duties as the Crystal Wizard. It was rare he had such peace.
To his surprise, when he opened his eyes, grayish light leaked through the partly opened vertical blinds. Xavier slid out of bed, careful not to awaken Ciara, and went to the sliding glass door.
He opened it and stepped onto the balcony, enjoying the tangy scent of the briny air. A flock of seagulls gathered near a grouping of palm trees outside the hotel, chattering like elderly women at a bingo game. A light breeze caressed his beard-scruffed face, teased the ends of his crystal
-tipped hair.
Xavier rubbed his nape and flexed his shoulders. Today was Miss Ciara’s mating day, and he wanted everything perfect.
Still, a distant tug of jealousy needled him. Deep inside, he longed to be the male to initiate her into the pleasures of sex.
But he could not afford attachments and always avoided sex with virgins for this very reason. He wanted the experience to be normal and natural for her. Nothing about him was normal.
Giving a rueful glance to his male anatomy, which cheerfully saluted the dawn air, he shook his head.
“Not today. I have a job to do.”
Movement behind him alerted him that Ciara was awake. He sat in one of the chairs, folding his hands over his erection.
She joined him on the balcony, rubbing her eyes.
“Good morning.” Ciara gave him a shy smile. “I totally crashed. Thank you for letting me stay with you. It’s hard for me to fall asleep by myself. I’m still trying to get used to it.”
Xavier tilted his head. “Who did you sleep with?”
“My sisters, when I lived in my mother’s colony. We all shared a room.” Her smile dropped, and she looked troubled. “Although I suppose they weren’t really my sisters since I am a half-breed.”
“Stop calling yourself that. Give yourself that name, and others will call you it as well.”
Ciara yawned and stretched, the movement lifting her full breasts. His phallus twitched in response, growing even harder.
Xavier bit back a groan. It was going to be a very hard day.
“And after I came to live with my father, I had my own room, but his room was next to mine. When he’d go out at night to prowl, he’d leave Misty with me, his friend who is a bobcat shifter. Misty and my dad watched out for each other. She did it because of dad, but after he died, our relationship ended.”
“Did that hurt?” he asked gently.
Ciara’s lush lower lip wobbled. “I thought she was my friend too.”
And Ciara had been left all alone to fend for herself.
She rested her elbows on the balcony’s aluminum railing. “Can we go to breakfast? I’m starved.”
“If you like. Marc won’t be here until eleven.” At her questioning look, he added, “Your partner for the day…and next two nights.”
“Oh. Him.”
Xavier grinned. “Try to show a little more enthusiasm.”
“It’s difficult to be excited about having sex with a man I have never met.”
And this was the problem. Xavier rubbed his cheek. A full-blooded Nymph would gladly bed the first available male with a dick. Shifters were more particular, and so was Ciara.
She glanced down at him and pointed. “Why not you? You could do it.”
Xavier covered his erection again. “No.”
“But you’re here, and you’re nice, and I definitely like you. You’re sweet and kind and not like this mysterious Marc.”
“No,” he said a little firmer, aware of his dick now growing harder at the idea.
“It’s my first time, and I heard first times can be rough, even for my kind. I want it to be with a man I trust. You could—”
“No!” He said the word in a booming voice that rattled the heavy sliding glass door and made the seagulls take flight in startled panic.
Ciara stepped back, her green eyes wide with fear, her breathing ragged and panicked.
“I’m s-sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Xavier closed his eyes, well aware they must be glowing white. He called upon his considerable control and stood, walking over to her and placing his hands upon her shaking shoulders, sending a tendril of calming energy into her body.
Finally she stopped quivering and stared up at him. The top of her golden head came up to his chin. So filled with life.
His jaded self sparked at that life as much as his dick had at the warm, soft Nymph sleeping beside him all night.
“It is not a good idea, Ciara. You’re very lovely, but I cannot. It’s not that I don’t desire you.” He gave a rueful glance at his still throbbing erection. “But your first time should be with an Other who is from your world.”
She gave him a look far older than her years. “And what if he cannot perform?”
Xavier shook his head. “I have never known Marc not to perform.”
“Fine. Then that’s the way it is.” She turned and went inside. “I’ll go back to my room now. I need a shower.”
“And then breakfast?”
She shook her head. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
6
Xavier left her alone the rest of the morning. He kept tabs on her, checking on her as she lay in the sun upon the sandy beach. Her heat didn’t affect the nearby males, and even Ciara herself, though she was restless, did not appear as sexual as most other nymphs. She showed little interest in other males. He suspected the reason had more to do with Ciara’s mixed blood.
A full-blooded Nymph would have male Skins flocking around her.
Then why am I so attracted to her?
Xavier sipped a tropical drink as he sat in a chair. Shirtless, clad in a pair of blue-and-white Hawaiian shorts, he studied the Nymph. Certainly she was lovely, but he’d bedded Others far more beautiful.
“Yo, Xavier, how the hell are you?”
He did not turn around. “You’re late, Marc.”
“Sorry, man. Had a job out in Biscayne, clearing brush.”
Marc sat on the sand, leaning against the palm tree. “So, where is she?”
Xavier pointed to Ciara. Marc whistled. “Pretty. Not as skinny as a Nymph. You sure about her heritage?”
Xavier gave him a withering look.
“Okay, okay. This is your show.” Marc held up his hands. “Got a room?”
Xavier began to feel like the scum that covered the Florida Everglades. He’d negotiated an agreement with shifters previously about the Nymphs but had never been personally involved with the details. This is what I have been reduced to in exchange for neglecting her all these years.
Xavier handed him the key. “Her room. Be gentle. It’s her first time, and she knows little about sex.”
Taking the key card, Marc whistled. “You weren’t screwing around when you said this one was different.”
“Go introduce yourself. Get to know her.”
Marc stared. “Small talk before sex? Since when?”
“Since now,” he snapped. “This is all new to her.”
“Okay, chill.” Marc stood, brushing sand off his khaki shorts. “I’ll woo her then take her upstairs. How long do you have the room?”
“Tonight, and tomorrow morning, she checks out.”
Marc gave a sly smile. “Might take longer. The ladies always want more time than that with me.”
The ripple of jealousy turned into a cresting wave. “That’s all the time you will require.”
“Seriously? Because if we get into some heavy-duty stuff, those ladies love to be tied up and spanked and maybe even flogged…”
His stomach gave a sickening lurch at the thought of delicate Ciara turned into a submissive toy for this tomcat, who would turn around and leave her.
Xavier set down his drink and stood, letting his eyes glow white. “If you’re not gentle with her, if you scare her—”
“Pax! I was joking.” Marc held up a shaking hand. “Man, don’t be so serious. Turn off the flashlights.”
Xavier allowed his eyes to resume their normal color.
“Whoa. I’ve never seen that before. Damn scary.”
He gave a grim smile. “Pray you never see it again, cougar. Now go to her. And mind my words.”
Xavier sat, watching Marc shuffle his sneakered feet through the sand. The cougar approached the Nymph and bent down, seeming to introduce himself. Ciara peered up at him from beneath the wide brim of her pink hat.
He kept watching, fiercely protective of Ciara, wondering if this was a bad mistake. But then he heard a gurgle of laughter, sweet as wind chimes in the br
eeze. Marc sat on the sand, talking with her.
He could eavesdrop. He had excellent hearing.
Suddenly weary, Xavier closed his eyes. Sensing they were on the move, he opened them.
Marc gave him a thumbs-up as they passed, but Ciara studiously ignored him. Xavier’s stomach tightened.
Well, that’s that.
He didn’t have to stick around for the performance. Marc had instructions to drive Ciara back to her home. I’m no longer needed.
Suddenly achingly lonely, he picked up his drink.
Two brunettes, one wearing a black bikini and the other in red, walked back from the shoreline and looked at him. Cougar shifters. They halted, and the woman in the black bikini gasped.
“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you’re here! The famous Crystal Wizard.”
“My reputation precedes me,” he said dryly.
“Can we get a selfie with you?” Red Bikini asked.
At his nod, they scrambled behind him and crouched, holding out a long selfie stick. Xavier smiled, knowing his image would not reproduce. It never did.
Red Bikini retrieved the selfie stick and cell phone. She stroked his bare arm. “So strong and handsome. We have a room upstairs.”
“I heard a rumor that you’re into group sex. Care to indulge?” asked Black Bikini.
Female cougars. It was good to see the cougar population on the rise in southern Florida. But he had no interest in taking them upstairs for a threesome. His sole interest remained with a virginal Nymph who right now was probably stripping off her bikini for a tomcat.
“No. Have a nice day.”
Time to head home.
As he cleared the last flight of stairs and walked toward his room, a scream rang out from Ciara’s room.
Xavier raced to the door, flung a bolt of energy at the knob, and kicked it open.
Ciara was on the bed, shaking, her bikini top discarded. Marc hovered over her.
Xavier saw red. He ran to Marc. “What did you do?”
“Nothing, I didn’t do anything, man!”
“Nothing? Nothing?!” he yelled. Xavier wrapped a hand around Marc’s throat and lifted him into the air. “Then why did she scream?”
“I barely touched her. I swear it!” the cougar yelled.
Xavier only heard the sounds of her sobs grating into his ears like razors. He dropped Marc. Xavier unleashed his powers and changed into one of his deadlier forms.
