“Here.” A sugary sweet smile claimed her face. “I know how much you love roasted chicken. I saved you some.”
His stomach twisted. While hawks from Earth ate an array of foods they could catch, Sachin and his people did not eat birds of any kind. It was cannibalistic in their eyes. The smell of the chicken made his stomach protest. He turned his head away and clutched his thigh. “I’m…fine. I’m not that hungry.”
Sarah took the plate from Paige, giving her a scolding look in the process. Paige blinked innocently. “Oh, that’s right, you don’t like chicken. Sorry. I forgot.”
The smell of the chicken gradually cleared out of the dining room, leaving the scent of roast in its place. Paige returned to her seat, her gaze still icy. She pushed the food on her plate around before stabbing a cherry tomato so hard her fork clanked against the plate. The urge to cross his legs was great. Paige was most likely picturing her fork stabbing sensitive areas of him.
His gaze met hers and she nodded, as if reading his thoughts. His throat went dry. Taking hold of his water, he glanced down the table at Sarah, who looked amused by what was going on.
Sachin gulped his water. Wiping his mouth, he tried to come up with something profound to say that would make it all better. What came from his mouth wasn’t what he had in mind. “I’m a horse’s ass.”
Paige set her fork down. “Go on.”
She wanted more?
He’d just referred to himself as the ass end of a livestock and she wanted more? If Kabril could see him now, he would never hear the end of it.
“I lied.”
“About?” Paige demanded.
“I was not with another woman.” He could do this. He was head of the guards. A fierce warrior. So why was it he wanted to crawl, begging the auburn-haired beauty before him for forgiveness.
“Why would you being with another woman matter to me?” Paige picked her fork up again, holding it like a weapon.
Sarah rolled her eyes and snorted.
Paige ignored her.
Sachin cleared his throat and continued on. “I lied because I’m unsure how to handle how I feel for you.” There. He’d said it.
“On that note, I’ll let the two of you be,” Sarah said. “I need to call Sheriff Bailey back anyways. He wants to come out in the morning and talk to us about those vandals we had here last week.” She left the room, leaving Sachin to face Paige alone.
He hoped for leniency but knew his temperamental seductress would give him no such leeway. “And how do I make you feel, Sachin?”
“Like I can’t breathe without you near,” he confessed.
Paige was silent for what felt like forever, before standing and coming around to his side of the table. He reached out and eased the fork from her hand, unsure if she’d attempt to unman him with it.
She touched the scratches on his forearm. “How did you really get these?”
He wanted to tell her the truth but she wasn’t ready yet. “Would you believe me if I said they were not from a woman and that I cannot tell you at this time exactly how I received them?”
He anticipated a battle.
“Yes,” she whispered, bending and planting a kiss on his arm.
“Paige, I know it’s customary for one to receive gifts on their birthday. I have something I…”
She pressed her fingers to his lips. “Shh. I want something you can’t give me, Sachin. I want you.”
His heart pounded madly, thumping so hard he feared it would leap from his chest. “You don’t mean what I think you mean.” He hoped she did.
A slow sweep of her lashes and curve of her lips made his cock jerk to life. She ran her fingers over his jaw and he nipped at them. He caught one and sucked on it gently, holding her gaze with his own.
Paige’s lips puckered and she fell into his arms, her breath hissing out. Sachin dragged her to his chest, his heart still pounding and his cock aching for relief. “Paige.”
“I can’t breathe,” she said, clinging to him.
“Neither can I.” He did the only thing he could think to do. He kissed her. Her lips parted and her tongue greeted his. Sachin knew he was lost to her, that he would never feel something so intense for another.
Paige drew back, touching her swollen lower lip. “Sarah could walk in and find us.”
He took her hands in his and kissed her neck. “Mmmhmm.”
“Sachin,” she scolded as she giggled. “Let’s go for a walk.”
“Or,” he narrowed his eyes, “we could race to a secluded spot out behind that big oak tree and see who can undress the fastest.”
Much to his surprise, Paige grinned. “Ready. Set. Go!”
Sachin smiled down at the beauty below him, still shocked to see her smooth, pale skin exposed to him. Never did he think Paige would surrender to his desires. He’d hoped and prayed but thought it all to be in vain. He’d known her for a little over three cycles and had longed to touch her, always holding back because of their age difference. Now, she was a woman according to her culture and able to make her own decisions. Thankfully, they included him, though Sachin could not fathom why. He didn’t deserve something as precious as Paige. Her trust. Her love.
Love.
Such an interesting emotion. One he had not understood until she came into his dull existence. Before her, he was content with village whores and quick tumbles with Earth females. Paige changed his perceptions of women. She made him feel something for the first time in a long time.
When he’d met her, she’d been broken, bruised and in shock. To this very day she held next to no memories of the night her mother had been murdered by her mother’s live-in boyfriend. It was for the best. Had Paige recalled the night’s events she would know just how close she came to death before Sachin swept down from the sky, killed the man who threatened her and then cradled Paige to his chest as he flew high in the air, taking her to safety. He held his secrets of being part man, part bird from her and didn’t relish the idea of telling her the truth. He knew she suffered from night terrors but he couldn’t reveal the facts—that he wasn’t human.
She bit at her lower lip. He spent many a day dreaming of how soft her lips were, the bottom one fuller than the top, and how easily they molded to meet his. Too often he had to leave her when he wasn’t ready. The wars ravishing his realm had increased to the point it was harder than ever to slip away undetected for even a few hours, let alone days. The enemy seemed to be camped outside their gates, waiting for the right time to strike. They’d become organized. Where before they were small pockets of resistance, they were fast becoming an army to contend with. A true threat.
Even with the knowledge of the state of affairs in his home realm, Sachin couldn’t seem to stay away from Paige. Her soft laugh and tender looks haunted him sweetly, even from a distance.
Will I ever be ready to leave her?
The answer was simple. No. He would never be ready to say goodbye to Paige but the choice wasn’t his to make. Humans weren’t part of his world. They were looked down upon, thought of as nothing more than vile creatures that lacked the ability to shape-shift into a bird of prey. Though they did have much in the way of technologies, they used them in the wrong manner—self-destruction on their part was imminent.
Their realm was polluted, riddled with disease and overpopulated. Still, even with all the negatives, Sachin couldn’t stop traveling through the portals that brought him to Paige. When he’d first seen her in the woods, her auburn hair reflecting the moonlight and her big brown eyes wide as she tried to huddle against a tree for protection, he’d lost a piece of himself to her. Things had ended well for Paige. Sarah had welcomed her into her home and the two bonded instantly.
Sarah was middle-aged, with no children of her own and a horse ranch in need of some tender love and care. Paige fit well with Sarah, becoming a surrogate child for her. In the process they had become an odd sort of family with Sachin as well. He couldn’t stay away. The need to check on Paige was almost all consu
ming.
He’d been coming to Paige’s ranch for months now, stealing visits and kisses from her, never once conveying the extent of his feelings or what he truly was—a Buteos Regalis—a man with the ability to shift into a hawk. He wasn’t human. Didn’t even hail from her realm, yet she had become the flame and he the moth. Duty called and he had no choice but to part ways, forcing him to savor every moment with her.
“Sachin,” she whispered beneath him, arching her back, exposing her neck to him. He showered it with kisses as he ground his hips against hers, his cock hard and pressed to her abdomen. Their clothes and boots lay discarded haphazardly on the grass surrounding them. When Paige had whispered “yes” to wanting to lie with him, Sachin had been left fighting the urge to partially shift forms—something legends spoke of happening when one merged with their life mate.
She is human. She cannot possibly be my life mate.
Kissing her earlobe, Sachin inhaled, committing the scent of her arousal to memory. She was young, only twenty-one cycles old. Far too young for his nearly four hundred cycles.
His morning prayer sessions were no longer spent asking the bird gods for guidance, they were now spent begging them to break the pull the human below him had over him.
He bent, capturing one of her tiny pink nipples between his teeth. He tugged gently and she melted under his touch. His eyes rolled backwards as he licked her pebble-like peak. His cock jerked, threatening to come before he wanted to.
She was innocent to the ways of a man and Sachin knew he had to prepare her to receive him. Paige writhed under him as he continued his sensual assault on her nipple. He licked, positive she tasted of berries. Her skin was cool to the touch and yet his palms felt as if they were ablaze. He would surely burn alive before he even entered her. He’d never heard of a fellow shifter spontaneously combusting during sex, but there was a first time for everything. He’d also never thought he’d be so taken with a human female that he’d risk his position among his people just to be near her.
Sachin rolled her nipple in his mouth and smiled. She groaned, fisting her hands into his shoulder-length hair and tugging firmly. The excitement of the act raced straight to his groin. He wanted to burrow into her tender flesh but hesitated, unwilling to risk harming her.
“Sachin, please.”
“Mmm, ta’konima,” he said, his voice low as he moved to her other breast, giving it equal attention.
“I can’t take anymore. Please.”
He kissed his way down her flat belly to the swell of her abdomen. Another dusting of freckles lay there and he licked each and every one. It looked as if someone sprinkled cinnamon on her pale skin. “You can and you will.”
Her brown eyes widened as he forced her legs open wide. Red curls adorned her mound, thick and slick with cream. Already she was wet for him and he had yet to touch her sex.
So moist.
The sound of the horses in the stables nearby reminded Sachin they were exposed to anyone who may wander past. He didn’t think Sarah would happen upon them and if she did, Sachin suspected the woman would simply smile and walk away. She seemed to push Sachin to accept his feelings for Paige even when he refused to believe he had any.
I am weak. He caressed her. And she is my weakness.
So beautiful, so angelic and blissfully unaware of what truly touched her. More than a man. A monster in the eyes of her people.
Sachin took in a deep breath and almost lost control of himself. Never had he smelled anything more seductive than the scent of her arousal. Paige squirmed, pushing her sex towards his face. He laughed and buried his mouth into her slit. He had found heaven. Her rosy clit glistened, covered in her creamy wetness. A low moan of approval escaped him. Paige cried out, jerking under his touch as he alternated licks and sucks on her swollen bud.
Her fingernails dug into his shoulders briefly before her thighs clamped to the sides of his head. Sachin felt whole, like he’d finally found a piece of himself he’d not known was missing.
Inserting a finger into her tight sheath, he stared up, never seeing anything as erotic as Paige looking down at him. Her eyes held lust and her mouth was pert—thoroughly kissed. He eased a second finger into her, this time meeting resistance. If he dared to push farther, he’d break her virginal barrier and claim her for his own for all time.
She is human. She cannot be claimed.
The thoughts niggled at the back of his mind but the way her pussy closed around his fingers drew his thoughts to Paige. He had to be in her. He pushed his finger through the resistance and she stilled. Sensing her pain, Sachin dipped his head, licking her and inserting his tongue in place of his fingers. Paige moved her hips, slightly at first before increasing the pace. He rubbed her clit as he licked her. She tightened around his tongue and pulsed, her orgasm taking hold of her.
Cream coated his tongue and a pinching at the base of his spine warned he was near a partial shift. Sachin tried to calm himself but the sight of her quivering pussy, all wet from his labor was too much. He moved upwards, his wings uncurling from between his shoulder blades, and he used his body to cover hers, hoping she wouldn’t notice. She closed her eyes as her orgasm continued to move over her.
He lined the head of his cock with her entrance and thrust in, no longer able to wait. Paige cried out, grasping his upper arms, her eyes still closed tight and his name on her lips.
“Paige Rapp, do you accept me—all of me from now until the end of time?”
Writhing under him, she nodded, her eyes still shut.
He needed to hear her say it. Something deep and primitive within him demanded she recognize his words.
She moaned.
“Do you…accept me…” it was hard to talk when all he wanted to do was take pleasure from her, “…all of me from now until the end of time?”
“Yes, Sachin. Yes!”
He pumped feverously. She had been made to fit him, of that he was sure. Fearful Paige would open her eyes and see him for what he truly was, Sachin planted kisses on her eyelids as he continued to move in and out of her. He lost hold of what little control he had and rooted himself deep within her, coming in waves. Each time seed sprung forth from his body and into hers, he felt as if he were sharing his soul with her. Sachin’s magik rose up around them. Additional feathers formed on his lower back signaling he was on the verge of a full shift. Static energy surrounded them but Sachin was unsure why. All he knew was that it felt as if strings were wrapping from his heart to hers—binding them.
Paige put her legs around his waist, panting and holding tight to him. The second her foot bumped one of his long, feathered wings, Sachin knew he had to end the moment. He pulled out, still dripping seed, the proof of her innocence smeared on his shaft. He took flight, leaving his clothing and Paige behind. He waited until he was far from her to look back, his eyesight preternatural. Paige was sitting up, staring around, looking confused and hurt. As much as Sachin wanted to fly back and comfort her, he could not. Humans weren’t to know of his kind. He’d been wrong for finding pleasure in her and this was his punishment.
Chapter Two
Accipitridae Realm - One Year Later…
Sachin spun, bringing his sword up and meeting his opponent head-on. The clank of metal meeting metal vibrated through him but he held strong. Centuries of battles and training left him conditioned for almost anything. His skills and his body were honed, as were any warrior worth his weight in gold. His senses spiked and the smells of battle moved over him. His opponent held fear.
As it should be.
He twisted once more, meeting another attack and thrusting away danger. It was almost too easy. Where was the challenge in it all? Deep, steady breaths were all Sachin drew in. His opponent’s breaths were choppy, shallow and as ill-timed as the man’s swings. Fatigue was the main cause. This man should have posed a greater threat than he did. In Sachin’s current state of mind, nothing was as dangerous as he was.
Crossing his feet, Sachin’s opponent co
mmitted a cardinal sin in fighting. It would have been too easy to toss the man off balance and put a finish to it all. The burning not only in his muscles but deep in his chest refused to allow Sachin to end the session so soon. His mind was still reeling with the need to focus on anything other than what currently robbed him of sleep. He should have been sluggish, dead on his feet. He was anything but. He’d become a caged beast, in search of diversions allowing him to unleash his rage. They were fewer than he wished so he took to creating them.
His opponent, a guard under his command, dropped his sword and slumped his shoulders, looking defeated. “My lord, your mood is foul and your strength great. I wish not to test my life by training further with you on this morn.”
The guard’s honesty was refreshing but not what Sachin wanted to hear. Normally it was he who was the bearer of sobering news. Since his mood had indeed soured over the last several moons, he was not sought after for his wise words. If anything, his best friend and king of Accipitridae, Kabril, often jested that seeking guidance from an injured boar would prove more appealing than he. Sachin could hardly argue the point for he would rather be in the company of a boar as well, instead of himself.
Sachin’s sleep had been fitful at best as of late and the overwhelming need to leave the Accipitridae Realm all but consumed him. His brotherly love for Kabril and Kabril’s mate, Rayna, kept him from doing what he normally did when the need to visit Earth struck—take off without question, heading to a realm he should not enjoy as much as he did. His place was alongside his king, not frolicking about in a realm full of people who lacked wings. Full of humans. Full of her.
He shook his head, desperate to keep his thoughts free of her. He had important matters to attend to here. There was no room for anything beyond his sworn duties to his king and queen. No space for somber reflections of past deeds he could not change.
A View to a Kill Page 2
