What are you going to do about it?
As with all initiates, her virgin shield had been ruptured when she started her menses, leaving her free to do as she wished until she took her last rites. Until yesterday, sex hadn’t entered her mind. But now that she’d seen him, she couldn’t forget his image. Now that she acknowledged she wanted him, he wouldn’t leave her thoughts. A hot spot had taken residence in her core, growing inside with wanting to touch him, to feel him touching her, to feel his—
“There you are,” Alyria said.
Her mother’s soft step and voice threw sudden ice on Aija’s erotic thoughts, leaving her to flinch. If that weren’t enough, her face burned.
“Where have you been today? I believe Zephyr enjoyed a lazy day off from your usual afternoon ride.” She glanced at Aija’s face and pulled back with alarm before putting her hand to Aija’s forehead. “Look how flushed you are. Are you running a fever?”
Aija shrugged. “Mother, I’m fine, just had a little sun today.” She continued brushing Zephyr as her mother gave her a close scrutiny.
Too close.
“What’s his name?”
Aija pulled back, frowning. “The horse, Mother? Have you had a stroke?”
“I see,” Alyria said. She rocked back on her heels and nodded as though she’d just received an epiphany. “What I meant was, what’s the boy’s name that put such a hot blush on your cheeks?”
“What makes you think there’s a boy involved?”
“Because only a broken bone would keep you off Zephyr’s back.” She inspected Aija up and down. “And I don’t see anything broken.” She peered close to pry out answers.
Aija couldn’t hold it back any longer; she hadn’t felt like this since she received Zephyr. “The boy’s name is Orion, and I think I’m in love.”
Her mother went deathly still. Aija sensed her mother’s thoughts drifting to another time and place. Her vacant eyes sent a chill down Aija’s back. “What is it, Mother?”
Alyria snapped from her trance and exclaimed, “I’m so happy for you. Tell me all about him. Where did you meet?”
Suddenly feeling silly in the face of these questions, Aija glanced away. “We really haven’t met yet.”
“Love from afar?”
“Maybe,” Aija said wistfully. “He definitely makes me feel something.” Her words trailed off, leaving a void filled with another question, one she’d not yet dared to voice.
With her usual intuitive insight, her mother said, “You were meant for power, Aija, but you were named for happiness.”
“Is there room for both in my life?”
“The power, you can’t deny or refuse. As for love, you have to decide if it’s worth the cost.”
Questioning the outcome of her actions, an unknown option in her young life, caused Aija to pause in mid-breath.
“Look, we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Alyria rushed to say. “Maybe he has a shriveled thing down below and—”
Aija glanced down. “Uh, actually, I’ve seen his thing and there’s nothing shriveled about it.”
Alyria pulled back, but then burst in laughter. “Ha! Daughter, you surprise me three times today!”
They chuckled heartily and made faces, expanding their laughter. “The state of his thing aside, go spend time with him, Aija. What you need to do right away is kiss him. Yes. That’s right. Do that and I promise the effects of that one action will tell you everything you need to know going forward. Once you’ve kissed, your heart will have all the answers to all the questions.”
That night as she lay in bed, Aija pondered the ways of a topic she knew nothing about. Her declaration of love today was heartfelt and inspired by desire. But what did she know?
Love.
Her uncles were the only men in her life on a daily basis, so when she thought of men, she pictured their paunches and skinny legs. Her mind hesitantly conjured possible images of their man flesh, then recoiled with a shiver.
She rolled over and hugged her pillow. She wondered what Orion’s hard flesh felt like skin-to-skin, heat on heat, straining for—
Suddenly her erotic fog cleared. She knew what to get him.
THE NEXT MORNING, SHE dressed and headed out the door at the crack of dawn. The father of her classmate, Jenna, bred and raised hunting birds. “He’s sure to have a falcon.” She saddled Zephyr and rode into the northern outskirts of Atlantis, arriving at a gate announcing Falconry Farms.
“Aija,” Jenna called.
Aija stopped and slid from Zephyr. “Look how tall you’ve gotten since last we met,” she exclaimed. The young girl had blossomed from a gangly child into a lovely young woman. “And I see you’re quite pleased about something, Jenna. What has you so delighted?” She looped arms with her friend, and they climbed up the veranda steps.
“Don't tell Papa, but I’ve attracted the attentions of a young man.” She squealed softly. “He is so handsome and proper.”
Aija smiled, even though what she had in mind with Orion was anything but proper. She squeezed Jenna’s shoulder. “It shall be our secret.”
They rounded the corner to find Jenna’s father setting up three cages, each with a bird of prey. “Mr. Ransom, thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”
“A pleasure to accommodate the next High Priestess. Please, tell me what you think of these.”
A hawk, a peregrine, and a falcon. “May I see the falcon?”
He handed her a glove and she slipped it on while he drew out the bird and removed her hood. Aija cooed and reached for the bird—she came readily, hopping onto her hand.
“She’s a seasoned hunter and a good girl, comes home when she’s supposed to.”
Aija made kisses, drawing the bird’s eye. “Are you a good girl?” She probed the bird’s mind and found her receptive. She slipped in, bringing love and safety.
Would you like a new home with an owl, a hawk, and a raven?
The falcon chirped and rolled her head. Being open to the mind link made her perfect. “I’ll take that as a yes,” she said.
Mr. Ransom provided a small cage for Aija to transport the bird home. She perched in Aija’s lap, silent the long ride back, but verbally grateful when the horse stopped moving and she was unloaded. Aija rubbed her hands together.
Now all I have to do is drop her off before dawn.
Long after the moon set, Aija rose and dressed. She selected an easy-going mare from the stables for the ride out to Orion’s. Once they were on the way, they made good time in the still of night.
When she arrived, remaining out of earshot, she tied the mare to a branch and unloaded the small cage. The falcon murmured softly, her head covered. “Sshhhsh,” Aija responded. She crept up on tip toes and set the basket down by the door.
Slowly stepping backwards, she turned and walked straight into Orion’s arms.
CHAPTER FIVE
Sequestered in the top level of the Tower of Light, Carlyle studied a screen displaying complex mathematical equations extrapolated from charts on time and space. Across the bottom of the screen were more equations based on various points in time. It had taken him ten years to produce these equations, and soon the moment would arrive when everything would come into place.
Stealing the scale of Maat required split second action with absolute precise timing. Such precision narrowed his margin for error. In order to be this precise, he needed tremendous power, power over time and space.
Aija’s power.
Frustration rumbled from his chest.
All this preparation dependent upon a young girl’s whim.
He had no doubt she’d mastered time, along with other powers and kept them secret. She often came to talk as if he were really her uncle, always filled with dreams of what she’d like to do and talk of her horse. She was still the loving child.
Perhaps her power came with a level of caution.
Protus entered and joined him at the screen. “How close are we?”
“Days,”
he answered. “I have last minute adjustments to make. Have you and Menin collected all the ingredients for the spell?”
“We have one more interdimensional ingredient that’s taking time to retrieve. The dimensional travel is exhausting for Menin. He’s resting.” He glanced at the calendar. “We’re cutting it a little close, don't you think? Her birthday is almost upon us.”
“Time may be fluid, but our schedule for this isn’t. Precise timing is everything, and this is the only option we have to work with.”
Protus gazed out at the horizon where the ocean glittered in the distance. “Do you think she’ll do it?”
With his arms crossed, Carlyle rocked back on his heels. The answer to that question had been the only unknown quantity in his great plan. She was her own person, of that he was sure, leading him to one place. “I doubt it.”
“Can we coerce her in any way?”
This question had run through his mind endlessly. Always he came up with the same answer. “I doubt that, too. But we’re too committed to this path to change now. There’s no turning back.”
AT ORION’S ABODE, AIJA went rigid in his embrace. His muscular arms wrapped around her, holding but not hurting her. Since being in his arms was exactly what she’d dreamed about, she dropped her cloaking spell.
“You?” he blurted. “What are you doing here?”
His hold loosened, but he didn’t lower his arms. Silence pressed heavily as she held her answer. His smell filled her nose, and her legs threatened to buckle, making her uncertain how to proceed. She licked her lips. “I brought you a bird.”
“I see that. Why?”
When he glanced at the bird cage, his bare neck was just inches from her lips. She wanted to lick his flesh and taste his skin. His gaze returned with his simmering amber eyes. She cocked her head, wondering ...
So much heat, so much anger. What moves you, Orion?
Heeding her mother’s words, she eased her hands up behind his head. She locked eyes with him, whispering, “Sssshh,” and drew him in for a kiss. His eyes tracked hers in the slow descent to her lips, going from confusion to surprise to acquiescence; both of them paused at the last instant before deciding to continue.
The initial contact brought a moan from deep in her chest. As the erotic sound escaped, their bodies shifted slightly, hers coming into his, his wrapping around hers. His arms tightened, drawing her closer than close, giving her heat, giving her joy, giving her the need for more.
A rush of desire-driven chemicals swirled through her body. Her breasts tingled, her core opened, and her belly tightened with anticipation. Her lips parted, and her legs longed to do the same. In that moment of quiet before the storm, he came after her tongue with his and she gladly opened for him. His hand rose to cup her jaw, holding her for his invasion.
Her mind reeled with the need for his rigid manhood to pierce her deeply, bringing her the ecstasy of love. She broke the kiss, gazing into his eyes, searching for resistance. Seeing none, she dragged him indoors. He pulled the blanket off his narrow bed and arranged it on the floor over a pile of straw.
By the time he turned around, she had dropped her tunic and short pants. Her heart pounded in her ears and her head swam with a heady rush of desire and longing and need for fulfillment. She pulled his tunic over his head ... and gazed at his rigid manhood, waiting and ready to satisfy her urgent desires.
Pulsing need and crying ache held no room for foreplay. She grabbed his erection and rose on her tiptoes to place him between her legs. He hoisted one of her hips with a hand and reached with his other to guide himself inside her.
She cried as his heat touched first her lips, then delved into her core, and finally her soul. Tears came to her eyes even as she began moving against him, needing this first completion quickly. She wanted to take him deep until he cried out in pleasure.
The dance began, groaning and entering, moaning and sliding out. She bit his neck, he squeezed her buttocks. Back and forth, they moved a little faster. She lifted to take more of him as their flesh joined with single minded intent.
The beginning of her orgasm flickered deep, then caught fire. She grunted and took him faster. He held onto her buttocks, holding her as he slammed rapid-fire into her. The erotic ecstasy blazed and took over her body, leaving her rigid against him as he growled and buried his flesh all the way in. With a gasp, she sagged and he scooped her up and brought her to the blanket.
He lay her down gently, then straddled her abdomen, a knee at each side of her body, his genitals resting on her belly. The posture was a curious mix of intimidation and surrender. He bent down, his lips grazing her cheek, and asked, “Who are you?”
She snaked her ankle around his and flipped them over. Positions reversed, she rested her bare bottom on his stomach. “I’m Aija. Who are you?”
Returning the move, he flipped them over. “I’m Orion. Why are you here?”
She tossed him up and over to land on top again, not that he was resisting. “I’m here because I wanted to give you the falcon. I heard you lost one.” She hesitated then rushed to add, “I know you’re the raven. I know you watched me, until...” She sank down, placing her breasts on his chest and whispered, “What just happened with us, Orion?”
He didn’t toss her over, but rolled so they lay face to face. “I’ve wanted you since the day I first saw you.”
She clasped his hand. “And I you.” She showed him her Orion birthmark. “Do you know what this means?”
His eyes bugged and he clenched his lips tight. She kissed his knuckles. “I have the mark, too. Tell me.”
“When I was born, a shaman said I was cursed by the mark of Orion, that the comet would return to destroy Orion and sink Atlantis into the sea. He told my mother to hide me, to hide my mark.”
“I’ve never heard of this,” she said.
“He was a daft old man,” he complained.
Ah, she thought, understanding now the source of his anger. “You don't believe him, do you?” She threaded her fingers with his, bringing their mutual birthmarks together. “No one can call our destiny. We make our own. When were you born?”
“On the summer solstice in the year the raven comet flew east to west. I’m twenty-two.”
“And I was born the same day five years later. We share our birthday. I wonder why Orion connects us.”
Their lips met, bringing a song to her heart and body. Never had she thought it possible to feel this much joy. After nearly eighteen years, she’d found the true happiness she was named after. “Our birthday is two days from now. Promise to spend the day with me.”
In return, his lips teased, plundered and caressed hers. “I promise, the day is yours.”
Their foreheads rested together, mind to mind. “What’s happening to us, Orion?”
“I don't know. I think I fell in love when I watched you from the trees. I’d never seen anyone so beautiful.”
Tears suddenly filled her eyes. “The ancients speak of fated love, two souls destined to come together. Perhaps that is the meaning of our birthmark.”
“Who are you? Are you a princess?”
Some people feared initiates and their power; she wondered how much to tell him. “I live in the Temple of Life, I’m an initiate to the calling.”
A troubled look crossed his face. “I thought initiates lived a life of chastity, sequestered in the Temple.”
“They do once they pass final rites. I haven’t made that commitment yet. I’m still free to decide my future.” Silence settled on her shoulders, for she had never considered not taking her final rites.
“You won’t tell anyone about my mark, will you?” he asked. “It’s my secret.”
She drew him in for a kiss by cupping his jaw, as he did earlier with her. “Your secret is mine.”
When their lips touched, he whispered, “When will I see you again?”
The answer sang through her soul. “Every day of your life.”
IN THE HOURS LONG AFTER the moon set, Ai
ja returned to her quarters and crawled in bed. She stroked her thighs, now sore from being spread; her buttocks tender from being held; her breasts alive with wanting it all over again.
If I have a fated love, why wasn’t I told?
“That would have been in my birth chart.”
And their matching Orion birthmarks. What does that mean?
Her curiosity had been lit. Knowing nothing would stand in her way of finding answers, she rolled over and sank into her covers, her mind filled with questions about Orion.
ORION PUT THE BLANKET back on his narrow bed and crawled in. He thought he must be in a dream but for the tender bite marks on his neck. Never did he consider he’d be so lucky as to have her in his life for a day, much less every day.
Fated love? Is that my destiny?
He was beginning to think differently about his birthmark, drawing away from the shaman’s words, having hope there might be another destiny for him. Life was proving to be so much more than what the shaman said.
You should have choked and kept your mouth shut, old man.
THE NEXT DAY AIJA FOUND her mother in the solar, tending her flower garden. Lotus blossoms floated on a small pond, with lilies and orchids blooming with vigor until their scent saturated the air.
“Mother,” she called.
Alyria turned at her voice and eyed her up and down as she approached. “Daughter, may I guess you have had your kiss?”
Aija went into her mother’s arms for a hug. “Yes, a kiss and a bit more.” She took her mother’s arm and drew her deeper into the garden, where the singing birds flitted about and peppered the air with their calls, assuring no listening ears. She asked, “I want to know, do I have a fated love?”
When Alyria would have stopped to pull back in question, Aija kept pulling her along. “Mother, he has the exact same birthmark and we are born on the same day, five years apart.”
Bound to Change: A Limited Edition Spring Shifter Romance Collection Page 95