Ruby’s Pride

by Romy Lockhart

  “You reek of magic. You are a witch.”

  Goddamn it. Now even Corwin’s pissing me off.

  “If one more of you says that to me, I’m going to go freaking nuts.”

  I hear a rumbling and realize Warner is chuckling. Oh god, he has a throaty laugh. It’s so damned sexy. I decide right then, if any of them get to have me, it’s him.

  “Does Warner ever talk?”

  Corwin shakes his head. “There’s nothing wrong with him physically if that’s what you think. He has never spoken. He understands what we are saying, but he does not wish to talk.”

  “Never?” Holy hell, a guy who can’t talk? Sounds like my idea of heaven.

  “Never,” Corwin confirms.

  We stop moving and I look around, my gaze falling on a small cottage nearby, with the light of what smells like a wood-fire shining through the windows. Rustic. Not that I expected anything less.

  Corwin goes on ahead and Warner brings me inside after he opens the door for us. I’m placed down close to the fire and all plans of finding a weapon abruptly dissipate. I’m exhausted. I collapse into the soft chair next to the roaring flame and pass out cold, hoping I’ll wake up safely inside the night club, or at home in bed.

  Chapter 7

  “I believe she may have mated to Warner already,” Corwin’s voice brings me to consciousness. “I sensed something sparking between them. An attraction.”

  I glance around the cottage and close my weary eyes again. I’m too warm and tired to move just yet. The blanket they placed over me is soft and smells of Warner.

  “She is a witch. She cannot mate to anyone. It’s too dangerous.” Ransom’s voice is as agitated as it was the night before. So his being an asshole wasn’t a situational thing. He’s permanently in a mood, apparently.

  “It doesn’t matter if she’s a witch. She’s also human, and if she has mated to Warner then we must leave them alone to begin producing offspring,” Ax says, his voice a little quieter than the other two.

  Ugh. I groan as I sit up, rubbing my eyes. I realize someone removed my shoes while I was sleeping and I glance around until I see them in front of the fire. Okay, they’re safe. Panic over. Now, I need to get these idiots to shut the hell up.

  “I’m not mated to anyone, and you can all take a lesson from Warner to use your tongues for more important things than speaking about someone as if they’re nothing more than a damned baby making machine.” I frown at them as they all stare back at me. Well, all three of them. Warner isn’t in the room so they were talking about him behind his back too.

  “Children are important,” Ax tells me.

  “What about women?” I push the blanket back and get up. “Are we nothing more than vessels for pro-creation?”

  Ax’s mouth drops open. He’s utterly speechless, I can see it in his eyes, which are a nice bright shade of blue now that I can see them properly in the daylight.

  “What are you doing?” Ransom asks, gazing me over sourly as I put my heels back on.

  “Getting the hell out of here,” I tell him, taking in Corwin’s hurt look and telling myself I have nothing to feel guilty about. This was all supposed to be over once I woke up. It’s supposed to be a trip. A dream. Not real. It’s starting to feel pretty damn real and that’s starting to freak me the hell out.

  “Please accept our apologies,” Corwin says. “You have to understand, this has been an obsession for all four of us ever since we were old enough to desire mates. We’ve spent years dreaming about this moment. Waiting and hoping. None of us know what we’re doing. Forgive our miscommunications and reconsider leaving.”

  “Why should I? Wait, don’t answer that, it’s rhetorical.” I take a deep breath and click my heels together, once, twice, three times, uttering the magic words. I close my eyes tightly, holding my breath. I’m going to wake up in the nightclub booth, or the toilet floor, or the alley. Any second now. I could care less where, to be totally honest. I just want everything to go back to normal.

  I open them finally to find Corwin leaning in close to my face, frowning at me. Goddamn it.

  “Please, don’t leave, Ruby.” His hands take mine and stroke gently. “Whatever we’ve done to upset you, we can learn to handle differently.”

  He knows the magic words a man should tell a woman, it seems. I’m quickly sucked in as he gazes at me longingly with his big dark eyes. I shake my head. “I’m not Dorothy.”

  I never really was, much as I liked to play-act the part as a kid. I’m a bitch and I only want to use you guys for your insanely hot bodies. You’ll hate me after, which is why I’m not going there.

  He nods. “We know this.”

  Yeah, I’m sure. I force myself to relax. If I’m going to get out of here, I have to get away from these guys. Somehow I don’t think they’ll let me out of their sights until they think I’m not a flight risk.

  “You all need to give me some time. Okay?”

  “We’ve waited this long, we can wait for you to be ready.” Corwin sounds so reasonable, but I can hear the desperation in his voice. He’d say anything to get me to stay.

  I catch Ransom rolling his eyes. He scowls at me and shifts into his lion form rapidly, making me jump back. He growls as the others move to let him pass, slinking out of the room. I’m half-surprised he didn’t try to maul me if I’m being honest.

  “What can we do to make you more comfortable, Ruby?”

  “Do you have a bathroom?”

  “A bath-room?” He frowns at me.

  “Y’know, a room in the house where you go potty?”

  Ax grimaces in disgust as Corwin’s jaw drops open.

  “So you shit in the woods.” Ugh, like I needed another reason to escape this weird-ass nightmare.

  “The house is a safe, clean place for shelter,” Corwin explains.

  “So how do you shower?”

  His frown deepens. I blow out a weary breath. No bathrooms mean no showers, obviously.

  “You guys don’t look dirty to me. I assume you keep clean somehow?” Why figments of my imagination are having such a hard time with the concept of a bathroom, I’ll never know.

  “There is a stream in the woods. Where we bathe daily.”

  “Nice to know.”

  He glances me up and down. “You would like us to take you there?”

  Ax’s eyes light up. “Yes. Of course. We should prepare her for mating.”

  “Woah, woah, woah!” I cry out, taking a step back as they move toward me. “A girl just needs to pee is all.”

  “We do not do that in the stream,” Ax mutters in disgust, his gaze darkening once more.

  What do I have to do to wake up already? Seriously. These guys are driving me crazy.

  “I’ll go out into the woods,” I say, moving quickly and kinda wishing I didn’t suddenly need to pee.

  I realize my hands are empty and look around hurriedly for my purse. I’d hate to wake up from this weird-ass trip without cab fare. I look down at my gorgeous new heels and wince at the thought of getting them muddy wandering out into the woods. At least it’s only imaginary mud, I tell myself. Probably.

  “I’ll accompany you,” Ax tells me, offering his arm.

  “Uh, no. Thanks.” I say, waiting for him to get out of my way.

  “There are dangerous creatures in the woods,” Corwin tells me. “We can’t let you go out there alone. You may choose which of us you’d prefer to accompany you.”

  I consider which is the lesser of two evils here. I glance Ax over and throw him the same look of disgust he gave me for needing to pee. “I’m not going with him.”

  Ax frowns. “If you would like Warner to...”

  “No thanks,” I cut in before Ax can suggest the guy I’m supposedly ‘mated’ to should be the one to escort me out to a bush to squat behind. “Corwin will be more than sufficient.”

  “Warner might not like that,” Ax says, keeping his gaze locked on Corwin.

  “Warner will not care,” Corwin tel
ls him, smiling as he offers me his arm.

  These guys are still naked, by the way. I’m exercising an enormous amount of restraint right now in keeping my gaze above the waist. I walk outside with Corwin as Ax scowls mildly at us. I can’t quite resist smirking back at him. It’s a wasted effort he doesn’t notice. His gaze has drifted to my ass. I realize the skirt of my dress has ridden up enough to show a bit more skin than I intended. I don’t bother to fix it. Let him stare. He’s never getting a piece of this.

  Chapter 8

  Out in the woods with Corwin, I get a better look at our surroundings now that the sun is breaking through the dense foliage. It’s like a forest from a dream; lush and without any of the grit of reality. I suppose I shouldn’t be so surprised. None of this is real, after all. The ground is remarkably even and dry. I never once feel my heels sink in to the dirt or grass which is a little miracle all on its own. When Corwin leads me out to a small wooden hut with an actual door, I start to wonder what’s going on.

  He smiles as he opens the door and motions for me to look inside. “I thought you might appreciate the private washroom our grandfather had made for his human wife.”

  Wait. It’s an outhouse? I’m so happy right now, I could cry. Inside is an honest to god porcelain toilet with a seat and a cistern and everything. There’s even a small sink in there, I notice when I take a closer look. The floor is tiled, and everything is really clean too. Which seems kinda weird, I guess, but no looking gift-horses in the mouth, right?

  “This was for Dorothy?”

  He nods. “It was crafted by magic.”

  “Okay, no peeking.” I go inside and close the door. There’s a latch and I lock it. I take care of my screaming bladder quickly, marvel at the powerful flush, and then spend several minutes staring into the light-up mirror above the sink. I notice that the toilet paper replaces itself every time I pull off a strip. This place is magic, for sure. I open my purse and freshen up my make-up to stall for thinking time.

  This is when I realize my big mistake. I should have let Ax bring me here. He’d be much easier to ditch. He doesn’t seem as smart as the others. Tricking him wouldn’t take much effort. I doubt Corwin will let me out of his sight for even a moment. I put my lipstick back into my purse and read through the weird note again.

  It makes my stomach squirm just looking at it. If this is a dream, or whatever, why is it so detailed? Why would I have given myself a task I have to complete to get the hell out of here? Never mind one that sounds practically impossible.

  Corwin clears his throat loudly outside. “Ruby, are you okay in there?”

  My thoughts race as I try to come up with a plan. I can’t go back to their house. I have to get away from him, and I think I’ve figured out the best way to do that now. I walk out of the outhouse and smile. He’s leaning against a tree as I approach.

  “You look different,” he tells me, his dark eyes sparkling with interest. “What is the staining you put on your beautiful lips?”

  “It’s called lipstick,” I tell him, pressing my lips together and wondering just how easily he’d do whatever I asked of him.

  His heated gaze makes it obvious. He might not be as simple as Ax, but I could still twist him around my finger until he barely knows which way is up.

  “It’s a human mating tradition,” I say, watching his face carefully as I put my purse under my arm and move closer to him. “We use it to stain the lips of our chosen lovers.”

  “Lovers?” He asks, his voice soft. “I do not know what Warner will think about this.”

  I lean in close and whisper, “What was he thinking when he left me with you?”

  He runs a hand through his dark hair. “He knows we would keep you safe.”

  I start to regret the choice to play seductress when his gaze locks with mine and his arms close around me possessively, one hand stroking my hair away from my face while the other skims down the back of my dress and pulls the skirt up to grip my naked ass. The feel of his warm skin on mine dampens my panties. I bite back a moan. He smells incredible and he’s got one of the hottest bodies I’ve ever seen. I want this so badly I can hardly stand it.

  So much for twisting him around my finger. He seems to have me writhing on his.

  “This is keeping me safe?” I raise an eyebrow at him, trying to regain some semblance of self-control. My pulse is already starting to quicken in anticipation of what’s going to happen next.

  His smile tightens. “It is keeping you from running away.”

  Shit. Was it that obvious that I was trying to get away from them?

  “I don’t belong here, Corwin.” Even if you feel so good I can hardly stand to be this close to you without tearing off my dress.

  “You do belong here, Ruby. We need you,” he says, his voice husky. “I need you. I will show you how much and then you will no longer think of leaving.”

  His lips crush against mine, and the world slips away. All I can feel now is him. His hard body pressed tight to mine, twin hearts racing in excitement, his mouth hungry and his grip bruising. A ripping of material strips me of my thong. My purse drops to the ground as I cling on to him. The hand that was around my neck drops to my ass and he begins to lift me up. I gasp out a breath when he breaks the kiss. All of the control is his now, and I couldn’t be more turned on.

  He stares into my eyes, as the head of his huge cock rubs at my wet slit. My lipstick has stained his mouth. “I am yours, Ruby.”

  He thrusts his hips and pulls me down onto him so quickly that I hiss in a sharp breath. He’s easily twice as big as any guy I’ve ever been with, and I feel every inch of his thick length as he moves inside me. The flash of pain fades quickly as his cock fills me with an intensity I’ve never felt before, making me tremble with pleasure as it rubs against my g-spot in the most incredible way. He twitches his hips slowly in synch with moving me up and down on him by groping my ass, and I’ve never felt anything better than this in my entire life.

  I haul my dress over my head and drop it to the ground before putting my arms around his neck and pulling him back into a kiss. He doesn’t seem to know he can do more than press his lips hard against mine. I break the kiss. “Let me lead, with this, okay?”

  He nods, his breathing beginning to get ragged. “This is all new to me.”

  Of course it is. He’s been waiting all his life for a mate to come along. How could I not realize this?

  “I’m your first.” How can that be possible when it feels so damn good?

  “You’re my only,” he tells me, his intent stare moving to my lips as I dip my head in close.

  I kiss him slowly, while he continues to slowly grind me on his cock, working his mouth open with teasing flicks of my tongue. He moans when I glide my tongue into his mouth. I gasp when he thrusts a little harder into my pussy. The first sparks of a climax hit when he moves me faster, as our kiss deepens, forcing me to take him harder. I realize as I fall over the edge into ecstasy that he’s close too. Our mouths part in an explosion of gasping, and I feel it when he spills deep inside me, digging his fingers harder into the skin of my ass.

  Then the reality of what we just did hits like a truck. I’m not exactly a stranger to sex, but I always use protection. That doesn’t matter if this is a dream, I tell myself, though that voice is a little panicked. It has to be a dream, right? No man has a cock this big in real life. And no man can fuck standing up so damn well, either, even he is using a slightly slanted tree trunk for leverage.

  “I had no idea mating could feel so incredible,” Corwin tells me, holding me close for a few moments before helping me to my feet.

  My thighs are slick and I’m more than a little light-headed. I stumble back over to the bathroom, picking up my dress en-route. I clean up while Corwin waits outside and decide my plans have changed slightly. As long as I’m stuck in this nightmare, I’m going to have some fun with it. That’s all a girl really wants, right?

  Chapter 9

  Corwin insists we h
ead to the stream before going back to the house. I’m not sure about washing in a river but it seems to work for them, so who am I to judge?

  “I assume no-one made a shower for Dorothy then?”

  He smiles at me, his mouth still smeared red. “What is this word, ‘shower’?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I tell him, my jaw dropping a little when he stops and points out the stream.

  It’s more than the little river I was picturing, that’s for sure. I can see a waterfall in a lake up ahead, with water that looks very clean and clear. It’s beautiful, actually.

  “I want to learn your words. I want to learn everything about you.”

  I wince at the enthusiasm behind his words. He wouldn’t really want to know that the woman he just gave his virginity to is a jobless, commitment-phobic, shoe-hoarder with anger management issues. I really should have tried harder to escape these woods instead of impaling myself on his eager cock.

  “Well, I really want to swim under that waterfall, so you’re going to have to wait.”

  I take off my heels and run through the grass toward it, dropping the heels and my purse close to the water’s edge and pulling off my dress. I dip a toe into the water and smile. The sun is shining onto the water’s surface and it’s warm.

  I jump in without any further hesitation. When I surface, Corwin is in the water with me and I’m a little stunned by how much sexier he looks wet. He was already gorgeous.

  “It didn’t wash off, did it?” he asks, touching his mouth.

  It takes me a second to figure out he means my lipstick.

  “Let me see,” I tell him, wading over. The water’s shallow at this end of the lake. I can feel pebbles under my feet as I move toward him.

  He lets me move his hand away. I inspect his full lips and find not a trace of red.

  “It’s gone.”

  He looks disappointed. “What does that mean for our bond?”