Shadow Borne

by Rachael Slate

  Now, hers wouldn’t be denied.

  “Tell me, god of erotic love,” she murmured, “of the ways men and women pleasure each other, which is your favorite?”

  He flicked his tongue along her throat. “Why tell you, when I can show you instead?”

  Flames of anticipation shuddered within her body. “Oh, yes. I beg you to.”

  Instantly, their clothes vanished from their bodies. Masterful god.

  The lights dimmed, coating her in darkness. “Eros?” she called, spinning about, but jolted as she sensed his presence behind her. Strong, warm hands drifted to her waist, firmly demanding she spread her legs.

  Obeying, she widened her stance and his length rammed inside her, thrusting in one swift glide. His brawny arms caged her in, the brute force of his strokes lifting her toes off the floor. She cried at the pleasure of his fullness and, shifting forward, surrendered to the demands of her husband. Her lover.

  Her beast.

  ***

  Eros growled, slamming his hips into Psyche’s lush bottom. Her slender, lithe body was so intoxicating to manipulate. He could bend her, twist her, fold her, and flip her. And lift her to reach precisely…

  “Ughn,” he grunted. That spot. The tip of his cock stroked her sheath, and the escalation building inside her heightened within him as well.

  They truly were one.

  Psyche extended a hand behind her, between his legs, and grasped his ballocks tight.

  Then it was all over.

  He thrashed his hips into hers, pouring his essence inside her while she clamped around him, milking every last drop. Yet it didn’t end there. A searing burn spread across his upper left bicep, the agony like the sweetest spike of ecstasy as it coursed through him, making him hard and desperate once more.

  The bonding?

  “Mine!” he roared, dropping to his knees with Psyche still hefted in his arms. She wriggled forward, twisting around, and peered at his arm. A beaming smile cut across her face.

  “No, Eros,” she purred, sliding her palm up along his chest. She tweaked his nipple, gently, then harder, until he tossed back his head and released an anguished moan, hands gripping the tiles. “Now, you are mine.”

  As she grasped for his other nipple, she droned, “Say it.”

  Chest heaving, he lowered his face to hers. “Aye, Arete, I am yours.”

  “Good,” she hummed, stealing a quick nip of his flesh before dragging her nails down his chest, over his abdomen, and coming to rest just teasingly short of his erection.

  He cocked one brow, stalking her movements. She was such a fast learner, his bride. His muscles coiled, ready to strike his retaliation. “Although, perhaps…”

  Her piercing gaze met his. “Yes?”

  Like a serpent, he shot forward and snared the back of her head in one hand, crushing her mouth to his. He kissed her until the air strained in her lungs, making her as breathless as he was, before releasing her mouth. “Perhaps, we belong to each other.”

  Her slow, warm exhale was like a summer’s breeze on his skin. Comforting, sweet, and full of promise. “Yes, I would like that very much.”

  They bent their foreheads together and he savored this moment. Every mortal and immortal should experience love and lust as he did with Psyche.

  Aye, that would be his perfect world.

  “Too long has passed since I’ve gifted the mortals with new manners in which to pleasure each other. I think we’d best get to work, my love.”

  “Oh, yes. I plan to work hard. All. Night. Long.” She spread her hand across his cheek. “Was that your favorite?”

  Eros regarded her and scratched his jaw. “Well, I can’t be certain until…”

  “Until what?” Her nose scrunched at his jesting.

  He leapt to his feet and extended his hand to her.

  Psyche’s eyes flashed while she placed her hand in his. He twirled her to stand and, stepping backward, coaxed her to the bed. Knees spread wide, he sank onto the edge, beckoning her with a crooking of his fingers. Obediently, she straddled his lap, hovering her core above his insatiable arousal. “Until…” He grabbed her hips and thrust upward, impaling her. She bit his shoulder to smother her screams of rapture.

  “We have tried everything together,” he rasped, tangling his fingers in her locks and inhaling her succulent fragrance.

  Eros rocked her against his body, his cock steadily pounding into her slick tightness. The truth was, he’d liked this position, yes, but never this much until her. This way, he gazed at her luscious breasts, watching as she slanted her head backward, her locks sweeping across his legs. If he glanced down, he could admire the connection between their bodies. If the pleasure became too intense, she could fall forward, into the security of his arms where he would keep her safe and sheltered from the intense fires blazing between them.

  Aye, this position with his mate was one of the most gratifying.

  Although with Psyche, perhaps what he liked best was…

  Everything.

  *****

  A year later

  Reclining on a sofa in his library, Eros tossed Hedone into the air, her tinkling laughter chiming across the chamber while her rainbow-hued fluffy wings beat a steady drum. Her cherub cheeks puffed as she refused to float back down to him.

  He shook his head and grinned. Stubborn, like her mother.

  And just as lovely.

  His heart split wide from the pride and adoration he experienced for both of them. “Now, come down here, sweetling. I’ll give you an extra sip of nectar tonight if you do.”

  Soft padding crossed his ears and a moment later, Psyche’s slender arm wrapped about his neck from behind. She cradled her chin in the crook of his shoulder and glanced at their wayward daughter. “You know that won’t work. Hedone is the goddess of Pleasure. She’ll stay up there until something more amusing comes along.”

  He groaned and rolled his shoulders, patting her hand. “Aye, so I’m learning.” He cocked his head at their infant daughter. “How about this? If you come down, I’ll let you touch Mama’s rose.”

  The rose. From the corner of his eye, he spotted the enchanted flower, hovering above its gilded pedestal. An eternal reminder of how much he loved Psyche.

  Hedone squeaked, but remained in the air.

  “Humph,” a feminine voice tsked behind them. “What she needs is a grandmother’s caress. Come here, darling.” Aphrodite opened her arms and Hedone, that mischievous lass, floated right into them.

  Eros rolled his eyes and swept Psyche into his lap, planting a passionate kiss upon her mouth. Her pulse skipped, then raced. He cleared his throat and shifted his hips, his erection already growing in demand. Yearning to reciprocate. Desperate to fulfill her desires.

  Each and every one.

  “Well, Hedone, my doveling,” Aphrodite shifted the little one onto her hip, “I have some new beauty creams that Hermes just delivered. Would you like to sort them with me?”

  Hedone beamed brightly and squealed.

  “Good, now give your Mama and Papa a kiss.”

  Obediently, Hedone blew two iridescent bubbles toward them that popped with the sweetness of a child’s wet kisses onto their cheeks.

  Chiming a laugh, Psyche blew an effervescent kiss back at Hedone that erupted into a sparkling rainbow above her head.

  Hedone cooed at her mother’s affectionate display, clapping her hands.

  “Enjoy yourselves, my doves.” Aphrodite winked at them and then sashayed from the library.

  “Well, what should we do?” Psyche wiggled in his lap suggestively.

  What, indeed. He only had about a thousand ideas competing in his mind… Aha. “I have a gift for you, my love.”

  That sparked excitement in her vibrant green eyes. “A gift?”

  “Aye. A place I’ve not yet taken you.” His temple. The one of erotic tortures that her unfortunate sisters had been so eager to visit.

  She cast him a coy smile. “What, have you been keepin
g secrets from me?”

  “Nay.” He shoved to his feet with her in his arms and flapped his wings. “I was simply waiting for the perfect timing.” Like the rose, their love and companionship had bloomed brighter every day. Now, it was time to explore each other even further.

  He flashed them to his temple, pausing in the arched entry. “Ready?”

  She wrapped her arms about his neck and gave him a heated kiss. “Always.”

  As he shifted her to her feet, he studied her reaction. The scene before them might be shocking in its rawness. In the expansive torch-lit stone chamber, ropes, chains, and yes, whips, abounded. Marble pillars, stockades, cages, chaise longues, and shimmering pools filled the expanse. In their midst, males mated with males. Females with females. And groupings of both pleasured each other without restraint in an orgy worthy of the unbridled god Dionysus.

  Here, no act was frowned upon or forbidden, so long as all parties involved consented.

  Aye, no gilded or leaden arrows were permitted.

  Psyche gasped, her brilliant eyes rounded and her rosy lips parted. “It’s so…” Hesitantly, she seized one step forward.

  Grinning, he steered her toward a nude, muscular male, bound with ropes to a marble column. Her hand in his, Eros stroked her fingers across the male’s abdomen, eliciting a cry of hunger from the male. “They come here, seeking release not only in their bodies, but their minds and souls as well.”

  “Yes,” she whispered, fluttering her rainbow wings. “I can feel them.” Twisting about, she tilted her chin to regard him. “Their desires, their hopes. The darkest places within themselves yearning to break free. To become what they were always meant to be.”

  He curled his finger beneath her chin. “Just as you have, my sweet Psyche.”

  Dismissing the bound male, she seized onto his wrist with both her hands. “I can see yours, too.”

  He stiffened, but quirked his lips. “Now, who is the one keeping secrets?”

  “Not a secret,” she hummed. “Just a way to know you better.” Her fingertip wandered down his chest, making him gulp in anticipation.

  Taking a step to the side, he directed them through the candlelit temple, past couples and groupings of mortals and immortals alike, winding through the moan-filled air, and up a small staircase to a secluded platform. Gossamer crimson silks draped around the space, providing as much—or as little—privacy as they desired. Lush cushions sprawled across the floor and an assortment of trinkets for them to enjoy awaited them.

  Eros plopped onto the cushions, tugging Psyche with him.

  She landed with a chiming laugh and flung her arms around his neck. “What did you wish to explore first, my darling Eros?”

  He nipped at the slender column of her throat, inhaling her luscious scent that hardened his cock and drove his need achingly high. “Everything.”

  “Mmm.” She moaned and arched her neck to allow him better access. “I think that can be arranged.”

  Growling, he disrobed them both with his powers, gripped her hips, and thrust inside her. “Torturously slowly,” he matched his strokes to his words, “and unbearably hastened all at once.” Eros pumped furiously into her while suckling her neck.

  She mewled and dug her nails into his shoulders, riding him harder, faster, more desperately with each passing second.

  One last plunge and he bucked against her, emptying himself. White heat spread from his ballocks to the tip of his cock. Her inner muscles clamped around him, a frenzied clinching that wouldn’t be dismissed. Ever her devoted lover, he willingly obeyed, pumping into her until there was no part of him she hadn’t claimed, no part of her he hadn’t possessed.

  They were as they had always been meant to be. One.

  Panting, she released her nails from his flesh and collapsed against him, a smile curving her lips. “My beast.”

  “My beauty.” He pressed a kiss to her damp forehead and drew lazy circles across her back until her breathing evened once more.

  As it did, she lifted her face to his, curiosity lighting her eyes. “That was magnificent.” She pressed a kiss to his jaw. “But what of the supplicants within this temple? What are we supposed to do with them?”

  “Whatever you wish.” He snared her hand and sucked one finger into his mouth. Twirling his tongue about her finger, he cast her a wicked grin that caused her to quiver in his arms. Then he peered deeply into his mate’s loving eyes. “This place is for us, just as the world is ours. It is as you once so wisely declared; the Fates might command our destiny, but they do not control our future or our actions. We are free to seize the world, as one. You shall belong to me and I shall belong to you, and never shall any god or mortal tear us apart.” He waved a hand toward the center of the temple. “Explore, learn, and play, my sweet Psyche.”

  Eros bent his forehead to hers and purred, “So long as we are together, Arete, there are no rules.”

  *****

  Olympian – the lingua franca (common tongue) of the gods and their descendants.

  potamoi – a river demon

  raptio – sexual slaves

  Adrasteia – Arsenius’s brigantine. Named after his half-sister, the goddess of revenge and balance.

  morphos – a shift in form, whether permanent or temporary. E.g. when a centaur changes form from a centaur to a human, he undergoes the morphos.

  chalkos, argyros, and chrysos – three passwords to the symposium, meaning “copper, silver, and gold”

  asphodelus, eros, aionios – three passwords to Halcyon, meaning “daffodil, love, and eternal”

  lyssa – a madness affecting centaurs, especially related to an incomplete bonding

  melita – term of endearment meaning “honey-sweet”

  quarter – pyrate term for “mercy”

  Old Centaurion – an ancient centaur language

  Meliae – honey nymphs

  hubris – excessive pride toward or defiance of the gods

  Pythia – Oracle sacred to Apollo

  The story of Eros and Psyche has captured my fascination ever since I first viewed the sensual and exquisite statue of them entitled Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss by Antonio Canova. I hope I captured the same passion in my version of the tale. Of course, to any who are familiar with the myth, you can’t help but compare their story to that of Beauty and the Beast, and so my epic mash-up was born.

  A special shout out to Angie Fournier for choosing the name of Soren for Eros in my Name the Beast Giveaway.

  Thank you to my amazing beta readers, Ashley, Gina, Lyn, Robin, and Nicola, for every ounce of your incredible input.

  A big thank you to my review team and street team, for your endless enthusiasm.

  To Kelley, my awesome copy editor, thanks for always being there to point out the flaws and help me make my stories sparkle.

  Karie Deegan, my kickass ninja PA, I know you must be relieved I finally put a date to this one! Couldn’t do it without you. Love ya!

  Hugs and kisses to my family. Love always.

  For my readers, I hope you find this tale inspiring and lay claim to the loves in your own lives.

  Rachael has explored forgotten temples in Cambodia, kissed the Blarney Stone in Ireland, and stood inside the Roman Coliseum. She loves studying people and cultures, current and ancient. Her appetite for romance began with Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, which she later nurtured with a healthy dose of Jane Austen.

  As a writer of scorching hot fantasy romance, Rachael blends the lines between mythology, reality, and fantasy. In her worlds, you’ll encounter strong, sexy alpha males and the capable women who challenge them. If her heroines can’t meet their heroes toe-to-toe, then they’ll bring them to their knees.

  No matter what torture she puts her characters through, true love will always prevail. Love is, after all, the most powerful force on Earth, and beyond.

  Rachael holds an Honours BA in anthropology, as well as a CELTA. Her secret indulgence is her passion for baking, which s
he offsets with her addiction to running (she’s completed four marathons). She resides on the West Coast of British Columbia, Canada, with her husband, two children, cat, and dog.

  Want More?

  For updates on new and upcoming releases, sign up here for Rachael’s newsletter.

  Rachael would love to hear from you! You can find Rachael on social media here:

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachaelSlateAuthor

  Twitter: @RachaelSlate

  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/RachaelSlate

  Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/rachaelslate

  Website: www.rachaelslate.com

  Email: rachaelslate@outlook.com

  Join Rachael’s Street Team, Rachael’s Rush Hour, for exclusive content, awesome giveaways, free ARCs, and more! Sign up here.

  Free Read!

  Psst! Do you love free books? Subscribe to my newsletter and receive my scorching hot novella, REMATCH, for FREE! If you haven’t taken a bite of my Chinese Zodiac Romance Series yet, then this standalone novella is the perfect start!

  REMATCH is the perfect blend of Beauty and the Beast meets the Island of Misfit Toys. Add in the mix one cunning Matchmaker, a mischievous spirit animal (Cat), and the devilish Monkey King, and you know REMATCH will take you for a wild ride.

  Grab your free copy by joining my newsletter here: http://rachaelslate.com/Register/Maillist

  *Make sure to check your inbox/junk folder for your freebie!*

  Reviews help readers find the books they love. Please consider leaving a review.

  Thank you for reading!

  Look for these titles, available here.

  CHINESE ZODIAC ROMANCE SERIES:

  BOOK 1: TRANCING THE TIGER

  BOOK 2: REMATCH

  BOOK 3: BY THE HORNS

  BOOK 4: MATCH ME LATER

  BOOK 5: REINING HIM IN

  BOOK 6: MATCHING DRAGONS