Things That Go Bump In the Night 2004

by Ashleigh Raine

  What had happened back there? Jill had a death grip on the steering wheel as she drove away from their house. Jesus, she’d thought falling in love with two men was crazy—but this…this was straitjacket, need-to-be-heavily-medicated insanity. The men she loved were animals. Raw, powerful, beautiful…beasts.

  Hot tears scalded her cheeks. She brushed them away with the back of her hand, but more fell in their place. Love had never hurt so badly.

  Looking through the windshield, she realized in her daze she’d turned down a street that dead-ended overlooking the ocean. Her tires crunched over gravel as she slowed to a halt, parking near the cement embankment. She rolled down the window, and closed her eyes, letting the chill ocean breeze wash over her. Salty air mingled with tears washing down her face.

  Leo the lion…Arden the eagle. The wordplay they’d exchanged last night over dinner when she’d noticed their tattoos held all-new meaning now. Plus the oddity of seeing a lion on the cliffs of Talisman Bay had been explained. Leo watching her with his brother…other half…whatever their relationship was.

  How could they be the same man split into two? Heck, how could they be animals? Magic…curses…it was too much to take in. Jill’s head pounded, the ache spreading from her heart throughout her body.

  Leo had stood before her, naked and beautiful, water dotting his skin. Then he blurred, his shape losing focus. It wasn’t a mist, and it wasn’t like he’d melted. The air had stirred around him and one moment he was man, the next, lion. Water droplets clung to his fur, the same luscious gold as his hair. Even in lion form he was regal, mesmerizing…the same characteristics that had drawn her to his human half.

  And Arden…his change had been almost too quick for her to comprehend. Man, eagle, man. A flash of dark feathers, wings, and then he was human again. Although his eyes had remained the same through the change. Human, emotional, full of love, fear and regret.

  Leo, too, had watched her while the lion paced. Begging her to understand, to accept them in all their forms. Begging her to stay.

  Without your love, we’re dead.

  God, what had she done? Would Leo and Arden cease to exist because she’d run away from them?

  Starting the car, Jill slammed into reverse, desperate to get back to their house. She felt the clock ticking with every beat of her heart. Ice-cold fear made her teeth chatter and her fingers clench tighter on the steering wheel. How could she have feared them? They would never hurt her. She knew that, just like she knew they loved her, too. The moment the three of them came together in the spa, a deeper connection had been born, their love a tangible presence in the water around them. No one else could ever make her feel the way Leo and Arden did. Emotionally, physically, sexually…they completed her.

  The three minutes it took to get back to their house felt like an eternity. She bolted from the car, scared at what she might find inside. The door was closed but unlocked.

  “Arden! Leo!” she called as she threw the door open, already moving toward the stairs.

  There was no response.

  Darting up the stairs, she entered the home theater. The room was empty…dark. The movie had come to an end, reverting to the DVD menu screen. Behind the options, two lovers were locked in an embrace. The movie’s theme music, sad, longing, beautiful, poured from the speakers.

  Leo’s clothes were scattered throughout the room, marking the path of their lovemaking. The sliding door was still open, cold air filling the room, numbing her heart, freezing the tears on her cheeks.

  They were gone.

  She felt as though she were moving in slow motion as she canvassed the rest of the house. Their bedrooms, office, the living room, kitchen, backyard, everything was as before, beds made, dishes left over from dinner stacked haphazardly in the sink. Yet the house was an empty shell all the same, lacking the life brought to it by its inhabitants.

  A pile of clothes was stacked on the floor in the living room—Arden’s clothes, which explained his nudity when he’d come upstairs earlier. His leather jacket was draped over the back of the couch. It was as though the two men had just disappeared, leaving everything behind undisturbed.

  A sob froze in her throat. She was so cold…couldn’t think…couldn’t breathe. Picking up Arden’s jacket, she fingered the butter soft leather, lifting it to her face and inhaling his sunshine. She smelled Arden and Leo, their combined scents a heavy musk on her skin. The evidence of their lovemaking lingered in every aching muscle, their fluids mingling with hers. She could still taste them on her lips. A small spark of hope flickered to life inside her numb heart.

  They couldn’t be dead. She loved them. Had never stopped loving them. If her love was the only key to keeping them alive, they would not die tonight.

  Wrapping Arden’s jacket around her, she ran to her car. In her haste to get in the house, she’d left the engine running. Sliding behind the wheel, she murmured a prayer, hoping she was right and that they were still within reach.

  Finding the coastal road she and Arden had ridden on two nights ago was easy, finding the cliff was not. Two hours passed as she made stop after stop, hoping she’d found the spot, feeling more disappointed each time she returned to her car alone.

  Pushing the growing weariness and fear from her mind, she pulled over again at yet another familiar-looking location. Unfortunately, almost everything appeared familiar under the glow of the full moon.

  Pocketing her keys, she closed the car door and headed down a dirt path, too narrow for her car. Her hands and face were scratched, her clothing muddied from an earlier fall. To avoid a repeat performance, she studied the ground as she walked.

  Her heart tumbled erratically as she noticed a slight groove in the dirt, resembling a tire track. Frantically she surveyed the area. Yes! This was it.

  Energy surged through her and she ran through bushes and trees, ignoring the pain of branches whipping against her body, snagging her hair and skin. Rejoicing, she broke through the trees and onto the cliff, the Pacific Ocean filling her vision.

  There was no one here.

  Spinning in a circle, she studied the bushes where she’d first seen Leo in lion form, glanced beneath the tree where she and Arden had lain, even looked to the sky, praying for a glimpse of wings.

  Nothing…no one…she was alone.

  The final spark of hope winked out. She’d lost.

  Time passed as she stood there, grief numbing her to the bone. The roar of the ocean continued unhampered, a strange occurrence when everything else felt beyond repair. She crept to the edge, watching the waves crash against the rocks below. Nature in all its violent beauty.

  Wind whipped the air as the night sky grew darker, clouds drawing over the moon like curtains at the end of a performance. She lifted her face, surveying for evidence of a storm.

  A shaft of moonlight reflected off something in the distance. She narrowed her eyes, searching the night.

  A shadow split from the darkness, leveling downward. Joy ricocheted through her as the black crown of an eagle’s head became visible. Arden was alive!

  His wings spanned the night as he flew toward her, black feathers melding downward into a lighter golden shade. But the gold didn’t look like feathers, it looked like fur…

  This wasn’t Arden…this wasn’t an eagle.

  This was mythology come to life.

  Fantasy converged with reality as the gryphon stretched out its claws, gracefully landing on the cliff in front of her.

  The creature lifted its head, and in a blur of motion, the gryphon was gone. A nude man stood in its place.

  Golden brown hair brushed his wide shoulders. He was lean, muscular, beautiful, a body built for flight. A tattoo of a gryphon in vibrant shades of black, brown and gray graced his upper arm. A sprinkling of bronze hair began at his chest and arrowed downward converging at the vee of his thighs. His cock was magnificent even at rest, lying in its bed of curls. Under her steady perusal, his shaft grew larger.

  Physically, everyth
ing about him was familiar, yet different, a confusing combination that made her stomach twist in anxious longing.

  His arm flexed as he reached out to her, making the tattoo of the gryphon appear as if it were jumping into flight. “Jill…”

  The voice was familiar, part growl, part smooth seduction. She lifted her gaze, studying his face. Full lips, craggy jaw, strong cheekbones, the face of a leader, a lover, a friend. Finally, she met his golden gaze, and in his eyes she saw the souls of the men she loved.

  A cry ripped from her throat and she threw herself into his arms.

  She tried to touch him everywhere at once, her hands taking inventory, basking in his vitality. As though he was waiting for her full acceptance, he remained still, letting her explore the new man he’d become. His muscles flexed beneath her fingertips, straining to respond. Rubbing her face against his chest, she listened to the steady, reassuring beat of his heart. Leo and Arden had come back to her. They weren’t dead, just in renewed flesh.

  Sighing, she pulled his mouth down to hers. Their first kiss, a tender recognition evolving into frenzied reunion.

  “My love. Mine. Forever,” he murmured, his lips laying claim to her neck.

  “Yes…forever…” She gasped as he tugged her fabric-covered nipple between his teeth. “I thought I’d lost you.”

  She shrugged off the jacket, needing to feel his flesh against hers. As she tugged her shirt up, he lowered her pants, pausing to kiss just below her belly button. “Jill, you never need to worry again.” He kissed lower as she ran her hands through his soft locks of hair. “You’ve already seen the worst of my oddities.” After laving her clitoris with tender wet kisses, he turned his head sideways and hugged her to him. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” The words erupted from her throat as her body began to tingle. Giddy, alive, in love. The man holding her was more than twice the man she’d ever dreamed of.

  He gazed up at her and with mischievous fire in his eyes breathed, “Show me.”

  “Mmmm…” Jill smiled and wiggled out of his grasp. Her darn shoes and socks were still on, preventing her from stepping out of her pants. Once down on the grass, she removed every last stitch of fabric. As he watched her disrobe, a droplet grew on the tip of his cock, glistening in the moonlight.

  She had every intention of teasing him, learning his new shape, but as soon as her hand touched his thigh, she couldn’t hold back. All of her need, welling to the surface, pooling between her legs, all of her love shimmering along her skin. Touching him magnified every sensation. A thigh brushed his, her knee swept to his hip. Using her fingernails, she traced from his hip up to his shoulder letting her lips continue the path, laving his neck, tasting his stubble, losing herself in his sunshine.

  As she shifted her body weight, she ground her hips against his just to feel his heat, his hardness. Jill buried a hand in the locks tumbling to his shoulder and he grabbed her ass, his fingers kneading. Her juices coating his shaft, she raised and lowered her hips, rocking her clit against him.

  As she continued stroking toward heaven, he brought his hands to her breasts, cupping them, toying with her nipples. Another moan escaped her lips as she spread her legs, straddling him, nudging his shaft until finally impaling herself on his throbbing length.

  They both cried out. She was complete with him buried inside. Her cunt squeezed tightly as they rocked together, matching each other’s motions. She sat up straight, riding him deeper and deeper against her womb. He seized her hips, grinding, combining sex and love as their bodies became one.

  A dynamic frenzy built with each thrust, each rub, each stirring thrill. Their fervor equal in every action, their gazes locked. Jill needed this man more than she’d ever needed anyone. She needed his seed planted within her. Needed his sunshine, his magic, his everything.

  Her orgasm erupted from somewhere deep inside, urging him to join her on the primal, beautiful bonding of two souls in love. She collapsed on his chest, their bodies still attached, writhing gently. His arms enclosed her tightly as she cuddled into him, lost in pleasure, lost in lust, lost in love.

  And somewhere in the fog of completion, she discovered the one question that hadn’t occurred to her sooner. “What should I call you?”

  She felt his smile against her forehead. “Leonard. My name is Leonard.”

  * * * * *

  Jill woke to the first rays of morning sun caressing her flesh. The dawn was cool and crisp, and she inhaled, filling her lungs with fresh sea breeze.

  They’d never left the cliff last night. Leonard’s tight embrace kept her warm, and she’d fallen into a deep, peaceful sleep.

  Eyes still closed to avoid the sun’s glare, she stretched, awakening muscles sore from yesterday’s many activities. Behind her, Leonard shifted in sleep, his hand lifting to cup her breast. Something warm and soft caressed up her bare leg, brushing over her flesh. Fur teased the back of her knee and she giggled.

  Wait a second? Fur?

  Jill’s eyes shot open.

  A golden pelt shone brilliant in the sunlight, nearly blinding her. A lion slept peacefully in front of her, his tail curling around her legs. A lion…not a gryphon.

  But how? Who?

  Jill sat upright with a jolt, the male hand cradling her breast falling into her lap. She faced the man who until moments ago had been spooning her. Dark curls covered a sleepy-eyed gaze, morning stubble thick on Arden’s beautiful, rugged face.

  “Jill? What’s wrong?” he asked, slowly coming awake.

  The animal behind her stirred, its soft head nudging her back while he purred. She reached back, stroking the silky hide. The purring grew louder, and a sandpaper tongue laved over her shoulders and along the back of her neck.

  Arden shot upright. “What the hell?” He looked down at his flesh, patting himself disbelievingly. He studied his tattoo, once again a soaring eagle. “How?”

  “At least I’m not the only one flabbergasted.” Giddiness filled her and she laughed. She’d never thought she’d see them again in their separate forms. This was strange, wonderful, too good to be true. Even if it were to only last a few moments, she wanted this time to remember Leo and Arden—Leonard—in the forms she’d fallen in love with him…them.

  Beneath Jill’s hand, she felt a shift…muscles rippling, fur becoming flesh and Leo’s voice, “Well, this is a surprise.” He lifted her hand, tangling their fingers together.

  “Yeah, no kidding.” Jill shook her head. “How do— What do—?”

  Arden shifted quickly into eagle form and then back, his eyes registering astonishment and fascination. Then both Leo and Arden elevated off the ground, their humanity rippling into eagle and lion before morphing together, flowing into the shape of a gryphon. The beautiful creature spread its wings to their fullest and stretched its legs as it softly landed. Bowing to Jill, the gryphon brought its wings forward. Swinging back, they transfigured to form arms as its body became Leonard’s.

  As though he was just passing through, he lifted once more, his essence separating into fur and feathers. As lion and eagle, they landed and paced before lifting again and returning to Leonard.

  Jill lost herself in the magic of the ever-changing menagerie. There was a sensuality to the shifts, watching two bodies become one, then two again, animal to human, the ripple of muscles underneath tight flesh, fur and feather. Desire rippled through her body and her toes curled into soft dirt. Their show of power and strength had a very interesting effect on her libido.

  Leonard appeared again, shifting out of gryphon form. He smiled, kneeling in front of her. “I guess I got more than I bargained for. We’d always thought once we became one again, we’d be just that…one.”

  He shifted to Leo and Arden. “Sorry if we scare you. We—I am still getting used to this.” They spoke in unison.

  “I think all of us are trying to make some sense of this.” Lounging backward onto her elbows, she grinned. “I don’t care how many of you there are, or what you look li
ke, or how high you fly, fast you run, whatever. You’re mine.”

  Arden and Leo shifted through gryphon form back to Leonard. “I think, at this point, that’s the only thing I’m sure of. I’m all yours.” He studied his hands for a moment as if still trying to comprehend his new self. “It’s strange. As Leo, I could get to lion form, but not eagle or gryphon, for obvious reasons. As Arden I could get to eagle, but not gryphon or lion. So, I guess combining what I learned while I was two halves, as whole, I can be any of my incarnations. I just think myself into the shift and I come out as planned. I…we never imagined it would be possible, but I think I like it.”

  “You think you do… I get to have three men in one and then some.” Jill reached out and tugged on Leonard’s arm, bringing him closer.

  “If it hadn’t been for the hovering threat of death, I would’ve happily remained separate just so I could still completely surround you, fill you, take you, making you mine in every way imaginable.” His hands skimmed over her flesh, claiming her with every touch.

  “I’ll take you anyway I can have you. As one or two.” She kissed him, startled when the lips she was kissing morphed and two mouths began loving her flesh. “This is going to take some getting used to,” she laughed.

  Then her men did as they’d promised, surrounding her, filling her, taking her, making her theirs over and over again.

  Epilogue

  “Trick or treat!”

  Sitting in the office in the back of the house, Jill smiled as the sound of children’s laughter mixed with Arden and Leo’s teasing growls. The duo loved Halloween, dressing up in fur and feathers to pass out candy to the neighborhood kids. It was the one day of the year they could become their other halves for public consumption.

  The rest of the year, they were hers alone.