by Setta Jay
That’s when the worst of her memories came. He saw her as a teenager tramping around the swamp at night with Jade. They slipped by a dive bar. Music filtered from the cracks in the ancient wood barely holding up the roof. Sage’s instincts told her something was wrong. Jade’s stance beside her changed, a small warrior set to do battle. Sage didn’t see the three older men until it was too late. They were tall, with dirty T-shirts covering bulging stomachs, twice the girls’ size and more than twice their age. Lucius raged in the cage of the memories as the men in dirty clothes trapped his mate and her friend. She smelled whiskey and smoke on their rank breath and put on a brave face through her growing fear. They taunted the girls and tried to grab them.
The girls fought, but the men were stronger. Jade moved far too quickly for a mortal, and two of the men were on the ground, but one had a knife to Sage’s neck. He felt the sharp metal digging into her neck as her heart raced. The other men got up, yelling and trying to drag the girls away, but something dangerous flashed in Jade’s eyes. Power. The men were trapped in it, but not Sage. Lucius’s mate was in shock. But the men’s eyes went wild as they scratched at the lids, crying out in fear that wouldn’t stop coming for them. The knife had dropped along with the three writhing men. Jade was shaking and pale. The girl looked numb when Sage pulled her away from the scene.
Fear and fury sank their claws into Lucius’s mind.
More memories shot past in a rush, but his mind was on the dirty knife at his mate’s throat. If Jade hadn’t killed the men, Lucius would have hunted them down.
He barely registered the changes in her life, other than seeing long friendships with Jade and Ash and more and more danger as they started bounty work. He saw the collection of too many powerful Mageia. He was grateful as hell when he realized her wild streak had started to fade. He thanked the creators that she’d grown out of bounty hunting.
He was in her mind when she and her friends opened her bar. Those memories were happy ones with her sister and friends and moms.
Then she was teleporting to Slake and trying not to throw up when she reformed on the grounds. He felt her excitement at seeing a hellhound for the first time. She loved it all. It seemed a little danger would always excite his mate. When she saw him on the balcony, she’d been drawn to him. That made him happy.
She’d been in awe of Slake, the Mermaids, then the conservatory. The plants and trees were reaching for her, drawing her forward. He felt the compulsion she’d spoken about, the rush of power until she passed out.
He felt the moment she heard his voice in her head, when she saw him in front of her, felt her desire and lust, her power, and when her climax rolled through her. Then she was afraid of the power she didn’t understand and how it was filling her too full. With him, she felt safe and comfortable, as if it was truly right. That was a good sign. He loved how her heart had done a flip when he’d spoken the vows to her. She was learning to trust him and care for him.
He woke with his mate in his arms, and he was grateful as hell that she was still unconscious. He needed time for his heart to stop pounding and to simply hold her.
Chapter Eight
Sage
One moment, she was sucking on Lucius’s tongue. The taste of his blood hadn’t been coppery and terrible—it had been dark and sweet like fine port. She’d gotten drunk on him before landing in a whole different world.
Sage was with him in a time when children were trained as warriors, as killers. Kids fought with razor-sharp swords and were forced to lock down their emotions. It was dim and horrible, like some terrible medieval movie. She was in the mind of Lucius as a child fighting to contain his emotions. She felt everything the boy felt: the determination and the way he fought the other children was ruthless but for a purpose. It was that or death.
The god Apollo had taken the Immortals of the world and bred them for wars with the other gods. His father was the top breeder. He had a sister and brothers in that place, and if he didn’t watch over them, they would die. Kaia was the littlest, other than the babies, and he worried that she showed too much emotion. She was four and failing in her training, and he didn’t know what to do. His father snuck into the camps whenever he could, but even his talks didn’t help. Lucius would be seven soon, and they would move him to be with the bigger kids. He’d told his father of his fears.
Sage wondered how the hell a six-year-old mind could feel so ancient, so jaded. Sage’s childhood had been filled with love, not death. That came with time, but she’d been older. Damn it, her heart was breaking at his thoughts and all the memories that played in that space. She saw him coaching his little sister, Kaia. Sage saw the girl’s wide, tear-filled eyes and the little fangs that retracted whenever she was upset. He lectured her, worried until his stomach twisted into unrelenting knots.
She was tossed into more and more memories of him fighting, breaking bones, and limping off in agony, though he didn’t show it. She was in his mind when his captors watched over him as he honed his telepathy and hunting skills. She was there when he’d first taken human blood and was ordered to decipher the memories. If she’d been in her own mind, she would have thrown up.
She was crying inside by the time he finally got his sister out of there. His father had risked his life to free them. Lucius’s father looked so much like he did that they could almost be twins. Tynan. Lucius’s father’s name was Tynan. Tynan’s face was a mask of calm, but she saw the shadows in his eyes as he ordered a seven-year-old Lucius to protect his sister. The two children were being ushered through hidden tunnels partially filled with dank water in order to flee to a sanctuary at Aphrodite’s palace.
The whole thing was horrendous and grew worse as she felt the boy’s fears as if they were her own. He worried his father would die for this, or maybe the other kids would. He worried he wouldn’t be able to protect Kaia, but she would have died or been forced to do awful things if they’d stayed. It was too much for a child to bear, but he schooled his features into nothingness and bade his father goodbye, all the while completely terrified. He turned like the man he thought he was, grabbed his sister’s hand, and rushed her out of the narrow rock tunnels. He never let her go as he scanned for threats, ready to protect her with his life.
She wasn’t sure she could take any more. She had been thrown into so many memories of a growing man who’d been raised as a warrior. He hadn’t lied when he’d said she would see a lot of blood. She did. She also saw the forests of Demeter. So many sightless eyes stared up with viscous black liquid dripping from their lips from the poisons. She saw him leading men and women into battle.
She saw and felt history in the making. It was a historian’s dream. Not hers. She felt like she’d seen too much. She’d lived through Lucius’s life, his emotions and dreams, and it wasn’t getting better.
The gods were destroying Earth in their madness. Only three gods weren’t insane, but it didn’t matter. The creators returned when they all thought the world wouldn’t survive. She was there in his mind when the great exile came and the creators sent the gods to sleep and the Immortals away. Humanity had almost been wiped out in the wars, so the creators apparently hadn’t taken any more chances with their more powerful creations.
From there, it was far less bleak. Lucius battled beasts and helped his father with a resort in on an island in the other Realm. He’d grown restless and bored. Centuries passed as if they were days.
Then Sage found herself at the end of the world, the thundering of the realms crashing and resurging, and Lucius’s exhilaration at battling beasts and protecting mortals. He’d been in the thick of it all. Once the fighting had stopped, there was so much magic and destruction all around him and his sister and those he’d led into the fight. They helped rescue the humans caught in the aftermath.
She felt his joy in freedom. She watched as he learned more and more about combining technology and magic to keep those he cared about safe. He was a born protector. It was in his very bones. He didn’t know an
y other way to be.
Then she moved to the present, at Slake. The day she’d arrived, he’d been drawn to her immediately. She felt everything he wouldn’t share when he blocked his thoughts from her. The second he connected with her mind to wake her, he’d known she was his. He’d been gutted. There was no real way to feel the emotion that came from him when he learned he had a mate. It was true reverence. She felt his worry for her and his caring when he learned things he liked about her. It was insane to be in his mind and feel his emotions, knowing that those possessive and protective instincts were for her. He wanted to cherish her. He wanted to do filthy things with her, but at the same time, he was scared to hurt her.
In the course of all of this, Sage realized she was falling in love. Living his entire existence with him made it impossible not to care for him. He was incredible, and he thought she hung the moon.
She awoke in the warmth of Lucius’s arms, and she breathed in his seductive masculine scent. Her head was tucked beneath his neck, and she stayed there for a moment, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
She felt his breath against the top of her hair. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, but I don’t know what to say. Or do,” she admitted. She felt so much for him. The timeline of their relationship was less than a day, yet she knew more about Lucius than anyone else in her life—maybe more than she knew about herself. Falling so hard so quickly was impossible. She leaned back to look at him. There was such tenderness in his gaze that she had to swallow through her emotions. He really was hers.
“I think it’s time we get out of here.”
His words made her frown, but when she looked around, she saw that the paths had cleared. “How?”
“The blood bond allowed me to siphon some of the power from you. Do you feel better?” There was so much concern in his tone.
She still felt the power inside her, but it had eased. How had she not noticed?
He stood, lifting her to her feet as if she weighed nothing. She looked down at her bare chest and shredded jeans and shook her head. Searching the ground, she found his T-shirt and commandeered it. “I’m stealing this.”
She crouched to unbuckle her high, strappy sandals then dispatched her ruined pants and underwear, balling them up to toss as soon as she could. She was mostly covered by the length of his tee on her much smaller body. She let out a breath, readying herself for the most epic walk of shame ever.
When she stood, she noticed he was staring at her with hunger in his eyes. “Lead the way, big guy.” She rolled her shoulders in a failed attempt to release some of the building tension. “My sister is probably losing her mind right now.”
“Kaia explained everything to her, including the fact that we will be unavailable for the rest of the night.”
The seductive promise in his voice sent a shiver of anticipation running through her.
He took her ruined clothes and shoes in one hand and engulfed her smaller hand in his as they walked through the forest. He scanned the space. Leaves slid over her cheek, and she tempered her anxiety and accepted the gesture as a loving one. The woodlands were still alive, but they’d moved back to their old spaces and seemed to only lean into her as she passed.
Once they’d exited through the doors of the conservatory, Lucius lifted her up and carried her. He stalked with her through empty hallways and up a private staircase to another empty corridor.
“You sent orders to clear the hallways,” she mused as he carried her through a doorway into a suite of rooms. She inhaled his scent as he nodded.
“We are in the middle of our mating. I don’t want distractions.”
He didn’t release her until they were in a massive stone bathroom. He gently set her on her feet on a soft rug, and she looked around the space. She’d seen the massive living room, done in dark colors with a high, coffered ceiling and a large fireplace. French doors lined the wall, and sheer curtains let in moonlight. It was the same in the bedroom, but the four-poster bed looked as if it’d been carved for a giant. The design was a mix of old-world antique and modern luxury.
She watched with growing need as he removed his shoes and jeans. He lifted her shirt while she was attempting to decipher the tattoos on his arms. “You’ve been quiet since seeing my memories, Sage.”
“We both have been… Do something for me,” she said when she wasn’t sure what else to do.
“Anything.” He said, and she could feel he meant it. He led her into the walk-in shower. The warm spray on her skin made her moan.
“I know everything about you, and I think you know everything about me. Let me into your mind.” She opened the block on her own thoughts, allowing him to feel all she couldn’t put into words.
He groaned, pulling her into his chest, and she used the opportunity to run her hands all over his back and ass. She burrowed her head against him, enjoying the warmth, the safety she felt in his arms. In his memories, she’d seen all that he wanted to do to her, and she wanted it too. She wanted him in the filthiest ways, and she let him see all of the needs she’d never shared with anyone. Somehow, it was easier that way.
His breaths were coming harder and faster. His cock throbbed against her stomach.
She whispered into his mind, “Please. I need to know what you’re thinking, Lucius. About me. Not me as a mate but the real me. The me only you could truly know.”
When he opened his mind to her, it nearly buckled her. His emotions and thoughts were so raw and intense that she gasped against him.
Her mind was a whirlwind of lust and caring. Love? He touched her then. She felt him soaping her aching body, relaxing her. His desire to care for her was almost as strong as his need to be inside her. “Does this answer your questions, little one?”
“Yes,” she moaned into their connection.
He took her lips in a ruthless kiss that shattered all thought. She was a being of emotion, both his and her own. Nothing existed but desire and love. His tongue mingled with hers. She felt the tile against her back then groaned as he slid inside her. He circled his hips, rubbing against her clit until she cried out. After several long, hot minutes, they came together in a frenzied rush.
“Get on your knees,” he ordered after they managed to catch their breath and her feet were back on the ground. Her mind and body were a whirring mass of need all over again, and she wasn’t sure how that was possible. Frenzy.
Lucius tilted her head to look at him. “I want you to lick off all the come. I want you to taste yourself on my cock. You wanted my thoughts, and now I have yours, little one. I can feel how turned on you are.”
She groaned, knowing he was seeing her fantasies. With inhuman speed, he left the shower only long enough to grab a towel and tossed it to the floor. “Now, Sage.” The authority in his tone got her so damned hot.
She sank to her knees in front of him, and he tilted his cock to her lips. His eyes were on hers when she lapped at the tip, teasing him.
“If you want a spanking, ask. For now, suck.” He ground the words out.
She was getting wet all over again. She slid her fingers between her thighs, feeling his come sliding from her body. She lifted her fingers to his cock, painting it on before licking it off as he watched. She closed her eyes at the taste. He was so sweet, so different and good, like a treat she would never tire of. She took his massive cock to the back of her throat, licking and sucking as if she could never get enough. The animalistic noises he made spurred her on.
“Swallow. You can take me into your throat. Do it.” God. She was going to come. She breathed through her nose and swallowed over and over until he slid deeper than she’d ever taken a man. He was so big, so long and thick. She could feel everything she was doing to him. She was so close to coming. It was the most intense thing she’d ever done.
She moved her hand from her pussy so she could stroke him as she sucked. “Good girl. Make me come. Swallow it all.”
She moaned around him as she shifted back, almost letting him pop f
rom her lips before taking him all the way into her throat again, swallowing over and over until he was growling and coming for her. His hands slid into her wet hair, holding her far more gently than his words had suggested. She savored every drop, licking her way back to the tip. He never seemed to fully soften.
When she looked up, she saw a fierce look on his face. He had her in the bed so fast she gasped. She felt soft material against her wet back. He looked down at her as if he would devour her, and that was exactly what he had in mind. Her breathing was labored as images of what he wanted to do to her played in her mind.
Every touch, every emotion was so intense that she felt like she wanted to crawl inside him. There was a whirring in her chest and stomach she couldn’t understand. “Your soul is pushing to connect with mine. That’s what you’re feeling, Sage. Now spread your legs. Show me your pussy.”
She swallowed hard while doing as ordered. His eyes flashed with raw hunger before he came down between her thighs. His talented tongue slid into her, licking her. “You taste so damned good.” He groaned as he slid his tongue inside her again. She writhed, feeling everything he was feeling along with her own desire. It was too much and not enough. He teased and tormented, moving to nip the insides of her thighs then eating her as if starved. “Bend your knees and let me see your little ass.”
She whimpered as she moved. His fingers lightly slid over the hole, and he sent a mental image of what he was seeing. “So pretty. You’re so wet, your juices slid here.” He licked her tiny back entrance, and she nearly came off the bed. “I want this, Sage. I want to come in your tight ass. I know you’ve never taken anyone here and I want it.”
“Yes,” she cried out.
He leaned in and sucked on her clit while one of his fingers toyed with her back hole. In seconds, she came, her body convulsing as his finger pushed inside her. She rode it uncontrollably. She felt his need to dominate, and it was sexier than anything she’d ever known. He needed to claim every single inch of her, and she wanted to give him everything as much as she felt his need to give her the world.
