Bright Tail

by Zenina Masters

  He smiled. “I enjoy the walk as well. Even without the charm, I enjoyed the mornings. It was afternoon sun that heated my skin and made me uncomfortable. Of course, thanks to your gift, our entire clan was able to live as the standard fey did. We were drow without the weaknesses. It did change us over generations, but you knew it would.”

  She chuckled. “Of course. I had watched evolution in action before the humans had ever guessed at it. Exposing you to the sun with a supernatural defense was bound to change your clan.”

  His chuckle warmed her. “Now, the high sun is merely uncomfortable, not painful. Even for those who have married into our clan, the change comes with the next generation. Of course, our skin is different, but we thrive in all situations now.”

  “I am glad to know that there was a benefit to my tyranny.”

  “You defended those in your care. There is nothing wrong with that.” He sighed. “I would like to think that I would react the same in your position.”

  She felt relief. “I am glad to hear it. Now, what will it take to get the icon back in my custody?”

  He pressed his lips together and hummed. “That is a very good question. My people need it to verify their mates. The seers are not working with all drow. We are not their first choices for placement with mates. They are taking the court warriors far before they consider us.”

  She pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand. “What if I could get another icon to play the same role? I am sure that I can arrange for the mages to craft something suitable.”

  He sighed as they walked down the path and over the hills. “I do not know if it would be an equivalent substitute. Why change if this one is working fine?”

  She pursed her lips. “You know why.”

  “I have an interest in keeping you around.”

  She closed her eyes. “I have made up my mind. I don’t care what you or my beast thinks.”

  She could have kicked herself when she mentioned her beast.

  “Your beast is interested in a mate? The balance ceremony could give her one. You would get half of my lifespan and magic, and I would get half of yours.”

  He paused and then finished his thought. “That means your beast would have a mate that would be at her side indefinitely.”

  The surge of interest that echoed in Seerya’s mind was enough to make her stumble. Lothan caught her with an arm around her waist and supported her while she got her feet under her.

  “I don’t think that she is interested.”

  His smile was smug, and he kept his arm around her as they entered the Crossroads in search of pancakes.

  Seerya’s plans were rapidly unravelling. She had started with a solid idea of getting the carved scale back from Lothan, but now, instead of her seducing him, he was luring her beast out with hints of a mate for eternity.

  So much for planning her own future. It appeared to be whirling out of her control, and she wasn’t sure that she was upset about it.

  Chapter Six

  Lothan was right; the pancakes were excellent.

  Lothan finally asked a question that must have been on his mind. “How did you find me?”

  She licked her fork delicately, enjoying the syrup. “I went to the club. Teelion was very forthcoming once I explained what I was looking for.”

  “He told you that I went to the Crossroads?”

  “Yes, he said I just missed you.”

  “I have been here for a month. It has been a very tense month.”

  She cocked her head, knowing that he was trying to obfuscate the situation. “How many casual lovers?”

  He blinked rapidly. “Um, how do you know about that?”

  “You are a handsome man, and now that the word is spreading across the shifter communities, there are more women looking for fey mates. Nothing wrong with trying each other on like a pair of shoes.”

  He wrinkled his nose. “It wasn’t like that.”

  “You knew she wasn’t for you. The icon would have told you that immediately. So, was it for sheer entertainment?” She was toying with him, but she had to make her point.

  “It was mutual gratification.”

  “Did she approach you again?”

  He looked flustered. “How did you know that?”

  She tapped the side of her nose. “I could smell her on you this morning. I may be an oceanic shifter, but the air carries scent just as well as water.”

  “Ah. That is embarrassing.”

  “Not as much as having to get used to public restrooms. Mind you, it is still better than the days of having folks chucking chamber pot contents out of windows.”

  He blinked. “Uh, yeah. So, sense of smell, what else?”

  “Well, you have seen me move through the water?”

  “Yes, you are very graceful.”

  “It took five years to learn how to swim like that. Your short limbs are nearly useless for anything other than anchoring yourself on stone. All the motion of your beast must be learned by trial and error. Eating as your beast is a whole other issue.”

  He stared at her with wide eyes and a slow smile. “So, tell me what else I will experience as your mate.”

  “Keeping the power in is the most difficult portion of the process. Around humans, you radiate power, which is fine for the most part, but if you scare them, it is hard to get them to listen to what you are saying. They surrender to their instincts.”

  He blinked. “I had not thought of that. How much power are we talking?”

  She held out her hand, let the bands of restraint that she kept around her loose and nodded. “Touch my hand.”

  Smiling, he placed his hand over hers, and his body jolted when his fingers closed around hers. She had been braced for the jolt of lust that struck her, but he wasn’t.

  His body shook as the touch of her beast’s power was given to him without the filter of her humanity.

  He gritted his teeth as he pulled his hand away. “You just had to do that in a public place.”

  “You touched me. All I did was take the barrier down.”

  He groaned quietly as he wrestled with lust. Every muscle in his body was hard.

  She spoke softly. “Sea serpents have been associated with masculine lust along with every other kind of serpent. Did you think that it wouldn’t be the same with me?”

  He spoke through gritted teeth. “I had not considered the ramifications.”

  “Come on. I will take care of that issue.” She paid the bill, got to her feet and took his hand.

  His rise to his feet was slow and careful. As they left the café, a woman wearing last night’s makeup swaggered forward, reeking of canine.

  She paused and looked Seerya over. “Aw, is he babysitting you? I will have you know that he is a fast fucker.”

  Seerya snorted as the woman came closer. “I suppose he just wanted to get it over with.”

  The woman let out a growl and swiped her hand at Seerya, fingers clawed for the strike. Seerya lifted her hand and sent the wave of her beast toward the woman, knocking her on her ass with her feet in the air.

  She let go of Lothan and stepped toward the woman, crouching next to her as she fought to breathe. “Missy, never interrupt your elders.”

  She pulled her scaled seeming on and looked down at the woman with solid black eyes. The woman yelped, rolled to her knees and scrambled to her feet, running for it.

  With a shake of her head, Seerya returned to her companion and took his arm. “I am guessing that the walk to the Isthmus is too far.”

  “I am staying at the Axion. It is this way.”

  She escorted him to the glowing castle, and the host opened the door wide, gauging the situation and wisely remaining quiet. It was nice to meet a discreet elf for a change. The fey were usually ever so chatty.

  Lothan guided her upstairs and to his room. It opened at their approach.

  “What is the treatment for this particular situation?” H
is voice was a hoarse rumble.

  “First, tell me why you have a shooting star tattooed on your bicep?”

  He looked down and smiled. “It isn’t a shooting star; it is the wake of your tail. I described it to the artist, and this is the result. It had to be picked out in metals in order to be visible on my skin, but I like the end product.”

  She blinked. “That is my tail?”

  “Destroying an invading ship. It was a dramatic moment.”

  She blinked. “They were trying to steal one of the brides.”

  “Ah! You remember! Excellent.”

  She remembered it very well. As she had been delivering one of the brides—a young woman named Ulia who had a penchant for astronomy—and a warship had interrupted the progress of the wedding barge. Jumping into the water and taking care of the matter had been second nature. Half an hour and a replacement gown later and she was watching as the respectful fey took his bride by the hands and kissed her.

  Seerya sighed at the memory. “It was a lovely ceremony, eventually. Now, strip.”

  She verified that the door was locked and surrounded the room with a protection against contact with her energy. Once that was done, she stripped to the skin.

  Lothan was staring at her. “How is it that you can be so powerful but so tiny?”

  “I was built in a different age, for a different purpose. Destiny had other ideas.”

  “You are not wary of the disparity in our heights?”

  She moved quickly and struck him in the chest, knocking him onto the bed. “You look just the right height for me.”

  His wide eyes showed his shock, and she opened his shirt and unfastened his trousers with efficiency.

  She eased his erection out as delicately as she could, stroking it and admiring the length and girth. “Very pretty. I am delighted you never got this tattooed.”

  He made an inarticulate sound. She leaned forward and licked at the salty head of his cock.

  The sparks between them were a low crackle as she kept her energy firmly under her control. The nudity on her part was a visual aid for him.

  She lowered her mouth on him and slowly dragged her head upward. It was a slow, deliberate process, but as she swirled her tongue around him, he arched upward. She held the fabric that clad his hips and moved with his motions. She licked and sucked as she pulled upward, enjoying the groaning, muttering and musk that filled the air.

  When he came, she took in the salty jets of cum and swallowed as her power returned to her with it.

  She licked her lips and knelt at his side while the charcoal-skinned stalk flagged for a moment before rising again.

  His muscles were relaxed, and he leaned up on one elbow to speak to her. “What did you do?”

  “I believe the term is a blowjob. That or I removed the energy that crept into you. It didn’t belong there, so it was seeking a way out. Sex is an obvious outlet, in every sense of the word.”

  He looked her up and down. “Are you in the mood to continue?”

  She laughed. “Usually. Most shifters tend to have a high sex drive.”

  “Shall I remove the rest of my clothing?”

  “Please.” She continued to kneel to one side while he removed his clothing. When he was naked, he leaned toward her and smiled.

  “May I return the favour?”

  She stroked his cheek softly. “I would not recommend it. I am holding myself in so that I don’t overload you again.”

  He frowned. “Then... what?”

  “I want you inside me, and from that point onward, we will take it moment by moment.”

  Lothan stared at her and slowly smiled. “I will not argue with that.”

  He kissed her, pressing her back to the bed. She focused on enjoying the contact of skin against skin while holding her power in.

  It was not the first time that she had had sex while trying not to injure her partner, but it was the first time that sparks flew on contact, distracting her as he caressed her from ears to toes.

  He parted her thighs and moved a hand between them, working two fingers into her and hissing when he felt her heat.

  “I always imagined you were cold blooded.”

  She hissed and parted her thighs as far as she could. “It was a mistaken assumption.”

  “I am delighted to be corrected.” He moved between her thighs and pressed the flared head of his cock against her. He matched her heat for heat.

  She shifted her hips to meet his thrusts, and she concentrated on not letting herself go as her energy clawed at the inside of her skin, trying to get out to wrap around the man who would be her mate.

  His charcoal skin moved against hers, inside her, and she bit her lip, holding back the power surge that was imminent.

  He grunted, thrusting deep and holding himself against her. She quivered on the edge of release and dragged herself away from the tempting precipice.

  Lothan slumped against her, and he pressed a kiss to her throat. “You feel like hot silk.”

  She shuddered. “You feel too tempting for words.”

  “I am willing to tempt you anytime you wish. I want to feel you when you let go around me.” He nuzzled at her neck.

  She shivered as her body heartily agreed to that suggestion. Seerya needed a shower, preferably a cold one, and a moment to herself.

  She ran her hands over his shoulders, stroking the tattoo before she squirmed her hips. “I need to go tidy up and catch my breath.”

  He sighed. “I don’t suppose you are willing to share a shower.”

  “Not yet. I need to finish what you started, with you at a safe distance. I don’t want you coming to any harm.”

  He raised his head and smiled. “I am fairly sure I can handle it.”

  She stroked his cheek. “Oh, honey, I am sure you could not. Give me a few minutes and I will take the edge off.”

  Lothan sighed again. “This is not how I imagined this encounter.”

  She got out from under him with a bit of effort, and he slid out of her. The bathroom beckoned, and since her body was still throbbing, she was in her first minute in the shower when her orgasm rushed outward at the coaxing of her fingers on her clit.

  Power washed out of her in a heavy wave, and she heard a surprised shout from the bedroom.

  Seerya gasped as her channel convulsed in memory of the cock that had just been inside her. She grunted as her body jerked and twitched while she spun out of herself before slowly reeling back in.

  When she had regained her breath, she straightened and finished washing up, removing cum and sweat from her body.

  The moment she was finished, she turned off the water, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her before she walked into the bedroom.

  Laughing at him would not have been polite, but Lothan was lying on his back with a pool of cum on his belly. Her energy had hit him rather hard.

  He groaned as she sat next to him and patted his thigh.

  “It hit really hard, didn’t it?”

  He grunted and opened one eye a slit. “What was that?”

  “My beast’s energy. If we had been connected when I came, the reaction would have knocked you out. Well, knocked you out if you were lucky. I have actually had lovers that I have broken.” She stroked his thigh again. “I didn’t want that to happen to you.”

  He slowly opened his eyes. “Seerya, will you be my mate?”

  She looked him over, shadow, muscle, cum and a tattoo, all wrapped with a persistent personality. “I will if you give me back the icon.”

  He reached to his neck, grabbed the scale and snapped it off with a jerk.

  He handed her the carved scale with a nod. “Take it, but I still want to bind our lives together. I want to spend decades learning to swim and longer learning all the ways we can make love.”

  A huge, fat tear welled up and coursed down her face, landing on the scale. Magic shimmered around her, and she pressed the scale over her b
reast. It melted and melded with her skin, and she was whole again.

  “If you take a shower, the answer is yes.” She smiled at him, feeling whole for the first time in centuries.

  With nothing but her to gain, he had handed over his greatest asset. There was nothing about that that didn’t get her hot.

  Chapter Seven

  Seerya frowned at the selection of outfits in Lorai’s shop. “I was looking for something a little more... me.”

  Lorai’s looked her over. “I think I have something appropriate. I have to say, Seerya, I never expected to see you here.”

  Seerya looked around at the dresses and sighed. “Me neither. I just wanted a few centuries of quiet time.”

  “And now you end up with a mate and a future you didn’t expect. I know how that goes.” She chuckled.

  “I am sorry that they hauled you back from your time with your mate.”

  Lorai laughed. “For you, I would spend a lot more time at the Crossroads.”

  Lorai went to the back of the shop, and there was a lot of rustling and a bit of cursing while the great mermaid went in search of another dress.

  Seerya waited while Lorai called out, “Are you going to be wearing your hair loose?”

  “I am. Some traditions I can’t leave behind.”

  “I understand. Aha! Got it.”

  Lorai emerged with a gown that matched the dark side of the sea. Kelp green, deep-water blue, and the vivid splashes of colour that few knew existed. “This should be perfect or as close as I can get.”

  Seerya grinned. “I offered to go naked but that was a little too much for him.”

  Lorai cackled. “They can be funny about clothing. Fortunately, my shifter has embraced nudity at every opportunity.”

  “I think he embraced you. The nudity was just a bonus.”

  Seerya put on the gown and turned slowly. “It fits.”

  “Thought it might. Now, we just need to do something with your hair.”

  Seerya looked in the mirror; her hair had writhed upward, twisting into loops and coils while letting the majority flow freely down her back. “How is that?”