I smiled. “I’m fine.”
He gave me a playful sort of frown. “Terrible timing, but I didn’t bring any condoms. We could wait if you—”
“You must be kidding,” I interrupted. Michael laughed. No way was I waiting for anything. “I’m on the Pill.” Since we both knew werewolves couldn’t carry any diseases other than lycanthropy, there was nothing else to say.
I looked down the length of our bodies, finally allowing myself to look at all of him. Though I tried not to let it show, I was more than a little apprehensive. Now I knew where the expression “hung like a werewolf” came from.
It was then I realized the only thing I was afraid of was his size. All my previous fears had melted away. That confirmed to me that something magical had been keeping us apart. Well, whatever it was, the spell was broken. I pulled him down toward me and wrapped myself around him. Touching Michael was better than I could have imagined. His skin was so hot I thought he would burn me into the mattress as he pressed himself against me. He kissed me slowly and so thoroughly that I was already near orgasm again. I felt his leg move over mine, his foot brush across my ankle, his hand on my hip.
I moaned and arched my body against him, trembling as he pressed a soft kiss against my throat. He kissed me again and I felt a smile curl his lips.
He placed the tip of his cock against me, brushing back and forth over my clit. “It’s your decision,” he said. “Fast or slow?”
“Now.”
I gasped as he took me at my word. Michael was huge. It took me a moment to realize that he wasn’t moving. I reached between our bodies, wrapping my hand around his cock.
“You’re only halfway in.” It was more of a statement than a question.
“Would you like the rest of it?” he teased.
I arched against him in response, but he wouldn’t let me have my way just yet. Michael cradled my head in his hands, holding me gently while he kissed me. His touch was soft but fierce. There was such intensity in the way he held me and in the way his body moved slowly against mine. He pushed deeper and I dug my nails into his back. Not enough to leave a mark, but enough to hurt. He growled near my ear, sending chills down my spine.
“I don’t know if I can take it.”
“I won’t hurt you.” Michael smiled down at me. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
He began to move deeper and I gasped. Wow. Michael reached underneath me as he sat up and pulled me onto his lap. I could feel my muscles stretching to their limit as I slid down his shaft.
“Relax,” he whispered against my lips.
I slid down further and he growled. He moved back and forth, slowly working me up to taking more. All the things I had felt for him in the past, the emotions I’d somehow managed to forget, came back to me. There were nights I had fallen asleep thinking about him, wondering what it would be like to make love to a werewolf. These thoughts came to me with the knowledge that I would never have to wonder again.
Michael leaned back against the pillows, pulling me down on top of him. I bent forward, flicking my tongue across one nipple as I ground my hips against him. I moved in circles, slowly increasing my pace. I ran my hand up through the back of his hair and pulled it tight. He growled in response. I looked deeply into his amber eyes as I said, “I think I’m going to come.”
I had barely gotten the words out of my mouth before my muscles spasmed tight around him. I felt his body tense as Michael cried out, “I’m coming.”
For a moment I was so dizzy I couldn’t think, I just rested my head against his chest. Michael didn’t move, but I could hear the steady rhythm of his heart beneath my ear.
“Maybe Red Riding Hood had the right idea all along,” I said, laughing softly.
His deep laughter was a welcome sound and made my smile widen. “What are you mumbling about?”
“You know, letting the wolf eat her.”
He settled back on the pillows, motioning for me to join him. I curled up under his arm, against his right side.
“She didn’t let the wolf eat her,” he said.
“Oh, I guess that’s just my fantasy.”
He laughed again. “Did you really forget to take down the wolfsbane, or were you afraid I’d blow your door down?”
“Good question.”
“Are you still afraid of me?” he asked.
We both grew serious again as I answered, “Not at all.”
He kissed my forehead softly as I rubbed the hair across his chest.
“How about a shower?” When I didn’t respond, Michael rolled to his side, laying me back against the pillows. “Are you okay?” His voice was soft and concerned.
“I feel so weak. It’s like I just cast a very strong spell. I’m not sure how to explain it.”
“Remember what we were talking about before?” he asked, brushing the hair back from my forehead. “What if your fear for me was some kind of spell and when we made love, it was broken?”
It felt like I couldn’t breathe deeply enough. I sighed as I moved closer against his chest.
“It’s all right, Raina.” Michael hugged me tighter. “We can figure it out later. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
I shook my head. I felt even more exhausted than when Aleric and I had used sex magic to enhance his spells last night. It was as if the sex itself had been a spell this time. I didn’t know what to say. I only knew I had to have some rest. The last thing I remember was the soft hair on his chest brushing across my face.
Chapter Nine
I awoke to the sound of the shower running. I rolled to my back to look at the clock. I had been asleep for three hours. The sheets were still warm beside me, so Michael hadn’t been up long. The balcony doors were shut and a few towels were on the floor where he’d dried up the rain that had blown in. My heart fluttered with the realization that he was naked in my shower. My memories were now fully restored. Not only did I remember being attracted to him before, but I had memories of Michael in school. He was four years older than me, so my memories were mostly of seeing him in the hallway when he was a high school senior. And admiring the way he looked in jeans. Even back then I knew he was a werewolf.
Lycanthropy isn’t passed down genetically. Still, all the men and a lot of the women on his father’s side of the family were werewolves. That meant once they came of age, someone had to bite or scratch them for the virus to enter their blood. The thought used to disturb me, someone waiting for the right time to bite their child. I knew when it had been done to Michael. He was sixteen. That’s when he changed. He’d always been good-looking to me, but ever since then there was something that pulled me closer. Maybe it was animal magnetism. All I knew was that he was now just as irresistible to me as he’d always been. I had no idea why that had changed in the first place.
As I entered the bathroom and smelled his scent, I knew he was supposed to be there. Not just in my shower, but with me, just like Aleric had said. I could always trust Michael, but something had made me think otherwise. He had never tried to hide from me. He was one of the few people I knew who was completely honest about who and what he was.
I slid the glass door open and watched as he stood underneath the water. His back was turned to me. Steam rose from his skin where the water touched him as Michael threw back his head to wash his face. I wrapped my arms around his waist and he patted my hands where they clasped over his stomach.
With a heavy sigh I pressed my face against his back. He turned in my arms and my face now rested against his chest. The warmth of his smile made me wonder if steam was rising from me too. His eyes seemed softer, his whole appearance more alive. No doubt about it, Michael was in love with me.
Why bother denying what I felt? I surrendered.
“I love you,” I said softly, as I began to kiss his chest. “I love both of you like I’ve never loved anyone or anything in my entire life.” I ran my hands over his body as I spoke, kissing him everywhere.
I slid down his body, revere
ntly caressing the curve of his hip as I kissed where my hands had been. “There’s nothing I want more than to be your mate. If your offer still stands, I’d like to accept.”
Hot tears slid down my cheeks as Michael pulled me back up so that I stood in front of him. He took my face between his hands. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“In that case, you need to see all of me,” he said softly.
I was about to say that I had already seen all of him when his meaning became clear. Michael meant to show me his beast.
His dark eyes, still filled with kindness, began to turn amber. He kissed me and my already weakened body began to tremble. “I love you,” he sighed, his breath warm against my lips. “I have for a long time. I’m sorry I ever frightened you.”
Michael kissed me hungrily and I felt his teeth lengthening into fangs. He held me to him tightly as he lifted me against the wall with a growl. With my back against the tile, Michael held my hands above my head, holding me in place with his body. He spread my legs with his thighs and instead of fear, I felt excitement coursing through me. I could feel his hands lengthening into claws where they touched my arms, could hear the bones breaking and reforming. Where his face was pressed against mine, I felt the tips of Michael’s ears grow pointed as his long wolf tongue licked my ear. I whimpered, and he growled as he pressed himself against me.
“Are you afraid?”
“No, I like it.”
I knew Michael wasn’t fully transformed, that there was much worse to see. He wasn’t trying to frighten me, he was trying to prepare me. He needed to know that I could handle both sides, that my fear of the beast wouldn’t keep me from the man.
“Touch me,” I said.
He released my wrists to run his long werewolf fingers through my hair. Everything in me said I should be afraid, but I wasn’t. This was Michael, not some monster in my shower. I was safe with Michael. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed his face. He pulled back to look down at me. His hair was wild, and longer, it blended with the sideburns that had begun to grow on his face. His eyes glowed and the hair on his body seemed to have thickened, though not nearly to the extent I knew it could.
“Can you love me like this?” His voice was already beginning to deepen.
“Yes.”
He paused, still pinning me to the wall with his body as if waiting for me to run screaming. I didn’t run. I kissed him hungrily, feeling his fangs. When he didn’t pull away, I deepened the kiss. Whatever restraint Michael had was broken. With one thrust he was inside me. The growl that escaped his lips was no longer human.
“Yes,” I said. “Harder.” It hurt just a little, but I liked it.
Michael kissed me again as he slammed into me, holding me against the wall with the force of his thrust. The beast he had kept so well contained was coming undone. He growled and I screamed. He pounded me into the tile with the force of his thrusts and I welcomed him. I welcomed the force he needed to release, the power in his body and the fierceness in his kiss. I raked my nails mercilessly across his back.
“Harder,” he growled.
I wrapped my legs more tightly around him and pushed off the wall with one hand, meeting his every thrust, rising to his challenge. I felt a tightness begin to work its way up my spine and all throughout my body. I ground against him, moving one hand between our bodies to work my clit. Release broke over my body like a wave, and I clung to him. When I screamed again I realized I had almost lost my voice. I felt Michael’s body stiffen and heard his howl of release ringing against my shower walls.
When Michael lowered me the floor, I could barely stand.
“Are you all right?”
“Why do you keep asking me that?”
He laughed, his voice still deepened with his half-transformation. We just breathed for a few minutes, unable to do anything else. When I looked up his eyes were normal once again, along with the rest of him. Finally, he drew one slow, shaky breath and said, “I’m starving.”
Chapter Ten
We were in agreement about needing a snack, and needing to talk to Aleric. Since his clothes were still wet, Michael wore a towel. I had just put on a pair of dry pajama pants and another tank top when something slapped against my door.
I jumped. “Did you hear that?”
“What the fuck?!” It was Percy’s voice on the other side of the door.
I opened up and the big green snake fell into my room. Well, actually he sort of flew. I think he was using his tail to launch himself against the door, only I opened it first.
He fell at Michael’s feet and the werewolf gave a yelp as he leapt onto the bed.
“It talks?!”
“Yes, it talksss,” Percy snapped. “And it wants to know what the hell is going on in here. Do you have any idea how much noise you’ve been making?”
Percy turned to me. “I heard you screaming and him howling. Sex was not my first guess.”
I burst out laughing. I couldn’t help it. Between the look on Michael’s face and the way Percy was acting, it was the funniest thing I’d ever seen. Percy looked livid. If it were possible, I think he might have turned red.
When I finally got hold of myself, I cleared my throat and said, “I’m sorry, Percy. I really didn’t think about it.”
Michael’s eyes widened even more as he stepped down from the bed. “What the hell is it?”
“Its name is Percy,” the serpent hissed. “And I’m a snake, dumbass.”
I did my best to keep a straight face while I explained, “He’s a wizard, actually.” Michael listened patiently as I gave him the details of Percy’s curse. I still didn’t know why he was cursed and Percy did not see this as the time to fill me in.
“So, the snake is really somebody?”
Percy slithered closer and Michael took a step back.
“Listen, asshole, I don’t go around asking if the werewolf is really somebody, do I?”
“I guess not.”
“And since when do you get along with Michael?”
After a few more minutes of arguing, we all went down to the kitchen. I was so hungry I no longer cared what Percy had to say. After all, it was my house. I could have sex loudly if I wanted to. However, we had been friends for several years, and I’m sure there would come a time, maybe not so far away, when I would need Percy to be on my side.
While Michael went into the kitchen, Percy followed me to the front door. I got a chair to remove the wolfsbane, and explained everything. I replaced the chair I’d used to reach the plant and tossed the offending blooms in the trash. Percy followed me into the bathroom while I washed my hands. I’d used a piece of tissue to actually touch the wolfsbane, but didn’t want to take any chances. It was deathly poisonous, whether you were a werewolf or not. Lycanthropes just had a much stronger reaction to its nearness.
“You know,” Percy said, “now that you mention it, I remember you talking about Michael before. You said on more than one occasion how sssexy he was.”
For some reason his answer scared the shit out of me. “So, it worked on you too?”
“What worked on me?”
I told him about my and Aleric’s theory that some kind of spell was at work.
The snake gave a low whistle and shook his head. At this point we were both sitting on the rug in front of the sink. “This is some serious shit, sssweetheart,” he said, moving onto my lap.
“This is more than just a spell, and Aleric must know it. If both of us had forgotten our previous impressions of Michael, before this strange fear settled in, it’s sssafe to say there is some seriously strong magic at work here.”
“Daisy,” I said.
Percy shook his head, misunderstanding why I mentioned Michael’s aunt.
“Daisy doesn’t have a magical bone in her body,” he said. “She could not have done something like this.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. Do you remember what she said when she was here before? You were listening, right?”
“Of course.” Percy looked confused while he tried to recall what I was referring to. Suddenly he snapped his jaws, clicking his fangs together. I suppose this would be the equivalent of someone snapping their fingers, but seeing as how Percy no longer had fingers, he had to make do. “She said it felt like she’d forgotten something, like there was something she couldn’t remember.”
“Exactly. Whoever made me forget my feelings for Michael made her forget too.”
He went back to looking confused. “Someone cast a spell on those closest to Michael and maybe those closest to you in order to drive you apart? But why?”
“I can’t imagine. It feels like two very different spells at work, one pulling me toward him, and one pushing me away. That makes no sense at all.”
“Michael knows a lot of people,” Percy said. “If our speculations are correct, they might all see him differently now and if that’s true, it’s bad.”
“Because there are more people involved?”
He smacked the side of my head with his tail. Not enough to hurt, but enough to piss me off.
“What was that for?”
“Think! Do you realize how much power it would take to accomplish something like this?! To make nearly half a town forget what they thought about somebody and to suddenly fear them? Or at the very least think of them differently? Michael was always well liked. I remember that now, but until you brought up the topic, I didn’t.”
I thought about what Aleric had said, about his vision of a dark sorcerer who wanted to steal my soul. Just in case Percy hadn’t heard it all while listening at the wizard’s door the night before, I decided to fill him in.
“It’s a good thing Aleric finished that spell of warding,” he said.
When we went into the kitchen, we found Michael and Aleric sitting at the table. I thought it would be awkward to see them together or that there might be tension, considering I was sleeping with both men. But there was none of that. Aleric had already showered. His hair hung in wet layers over his shoulders. The bathrobe he wore matched his eyes, making them appear an even darker blue. The pants he was wearing looked like silk. When I noticed he wasn’t wearing any shoes I smiled. Something about him being barefoot made the situation seem more intimate. Michael appeared perfectly at home in his towel.
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