by Anya Bast
I give you my breath, blood and bone.
I pledge to you my protection.
I merge my soul with yours.
For as long as I live, I will shield you from harm.
Foresworn, I will cherish you.
Eternally, I will honor you.
United, we forge this bond.
We are mated.
I am yours.
As his words filled the chapel, warmth wrapped her and a strange tingling tickled her skin.
Euphoria filled her. It was…magick. Some strange Lycaon magick that wove their souls together. For her, it was just a formality. Her soul already felt woven into Torrent’s.
When Torrent uttered the final syllable, her spine arched and magick poured through her. Torrent caught her as her knees gave way and he folded her into his embrace.
“I love you,” he whispered near her ear, then gave her a long kiss.
The chapel erupted into applause, but she and Torrent barely heard it.
“Take me home,” she whispered into Torrent’s ear. “I want to you make love to me all night.”
His arms tightened around her and he shivered. “Then let’s get out of here.”
* * * * *
“Come here,” murmured Torrent.
Caroline walked across the bedroom toward him. He sat on the edge of the bed, two unidentified things lying on the mattress beside him.
She’d found him waiting for her when she’d exited the bathroom after her shower. Barefoot and shirtless, he looked feral and barely contained, dark lust clouding his eyes. Just seeing Torrent while he so clearly wanted her made her cunt hot and excited.
Holding his gaze, she dropped her towel to the floor. As she crossed the room toward him, his hungry gaze ate up the length of her naked body, his hands forming fists.
“I’m fighting the dire wolf part of me right now,” he growled. “I want to pounce on you, take you to the floor, mount you from behind, and fuck you until you can’t see straight.”
Her steps faltered, her own dire wolf rising to his words, seeing herself on all fours, him behind her, his cock pumping hard and fast into her vulnerable cunt.
“Who says I don’t want that too?” she breathed.
He gave his head a shake. “I have other plans for you tonight.”
“What plans?”
He didn’t answer. He only patted his lap. “Lay over my legs, stomach down and that sweet ass up and offered to me.”
She shivered at the command in his voice. After hesitating a moment, she did as he’d requested. The fabric of his loose pants rasped her skin.
Torrent ran his hands over her back and massaged the nape of her neck, making her shiver and dispersing the tension in her muscles. “Spread your legs,” he murmured in a tense voice.
She parted her thighs, her toes touching the floor on one side, her fingertips on the other side. Normally this would be an awkward position, but she wasn’t very big and Torrent had a large lap. She fit nicely on it.
His strong hand delved between her spread legs, touching her aroused cunt. She shuddered in pleasure at the touch of his fingers.
After a moment, he reached over and took one of the objects he’d laid on the bed. She heard the sound of liquid being squirted.
“What’s that?” she asked.
Torrent lowered his fingers to her cunt once more and rubbed something wet and warm into her clit and over her labia. “This is an oil that will lubricate you.”
He rubbed the oil over the entrance of her ass and she stiffened. Now she understood what he wanted.
He shushed her. “Think only about what gives you pleasure and nothing else. Does this feel good?”
She closed her eyes and nodded.
“You’ll like this better, then,” he murmured as he penetrated her rear entrance with the tip of a finger. He thrust in and out gently, slowly guiding himself to the first knuckle, then the second.
The action drew long moans from her throat. It was mind-blowing so much sensation could come from this stimulation.
With his other hand, he rubbed over her labia and slid into her with two fingers. Her hips jumped at the feeling of having both orifices filled at one time.
“Torrent,” she moaned, squirming a bit on his lap.
“Do you like it?” His voice sounded tense, aroused.
Biting her lower lip, she nodded.
“Your body was made for this, Caroline. You are relaxing and widening yourself for me.”
He withdrew to drizzle more of the oil onto her rear, then slid two fingers into her. She gasped, then moaned at the sensation of him stretching her muscles so exquisitely. It hurt just a little…just enough to make pleasure pulse her clit and sear deliciously up her backbone. It was a small pain, a sweet pain.
“Caroline,” murmured Torrent. “You have no idea how exciting this is for me.”
“Make love to me,” she whispered. “Right now. I can’t take this kind of teasing for long.”
“Oh, I will,” he answered. “I want to slide my cock into you every fiber of my being.”
She closed her eyes and he increased the pace of his thrusts. He matched his thrusts into her cunt and rear with a masterful precision that nearly made her scream.
“Come for me,” Torrent whispered. “I want to hear you moan.”
She clenched her fists and bucked on his lap as her climax hit her like a train. The waves of intense pleasure washed over her, making her cry out. He rode her through it, lengthening it.
As the powerful orgasm ebbed away, he lifted her onto the bed, carefully laying her on her stomach. Her body seemed like a wet noodle, all the strength wrung from it.
He took an object near her head and coated it with the oil. She lifted her head weakly. “What are you doing?”
“This,” Torrent answered, raising her hips, so she rested on her knees, her pelvis tipped up and her ass offered to him. He set the tip of the oiled object to the entrance of her cunt and slowly pushed it inside.
She moaned and closed her eyes, fisting the blankets in both hands. The object felt ridged, wide and long. He pulled it out and pushed it back in, all the while gently stroking her clit.
Pleasure flared to life once again. He thrust the object in and out of her cunt like it was his cock. She spread her legs further, panting from the waves of sexual ecstasy radiating through her.
“Are you ready for me?” he asked, his voice sounding strained.
“Ready for what?”
She heard the rustle of clothing being removed, then the smooth, oiled head of his cock pressed against the entrance of her ass. She jerked.
He held her hips steady. The ridged cylinder still filled her cunt. “This will give you great pleasure, Caroline. Do you trust me?”
She hesitated, then nodded.
“I would never hurt you.”
“I know,” she breathed.
The crown of his cock penetrated her entrance, tearing a low moan from her throat. Inch by slow and careful inch, he pushed inside.
It brought her up to the sweet, confusing edge of pain. It played counterpoint to the unbelievable pleasure, making that pleasure even more intense.
He eased within her deeper and deeper until he finally seated himself base-deep. “Caroline,” he groaned, “you feel so good.”
She gripped the blankets and tried not to buck. Having both orifices completely filled, one with Torrent and the other by the cylinder, was a deeply hedonistic experience. It was as though her body had transformed to a state of pure sexual bliss.
Then Torrent began thrusting.
Caroline could only hold on against the pressure of Torrent’s body possessing hers, the slow, delicious slide of his cock relentlessly thrusting into her ass, while the cylinder also moved in and out of her cunt with his motions.
Torrent groaned low and long, his big hands holding her hips as he took her long and slow. Every inward thrust of his cock made the cylinder penetrate her cunt deeper.
Slipping
one hand down around her waist, he found her plumped and aroused clit and stroked it. A powerful orgasm hit her immediately, making her cry out and nearly collapse to the mattress.
A moment later and Torrent’s cock jumped inside her. He groaned her name and spilled deep within her.
They collapsed together on the bed he wound his arms around her protectively. He kissed her forehead. “Now I’ve had every part of your body,” he murmured.
She chuckled. “It’s yours, my love. Anytime.”
It was hard not to think about how well they suited each other. Not only were they well paired in personality and emotionally, but sexually too.
If only they could enjoy a lifetime together.
Chapter Nine
Torrent stood in the middle of the yard watching Caroline stare up into the sky at her sister, Kaitlyn, circling in hawk form. The first time Caroline had seen Kaitlyn shift there’d been wonder and amazement in her expression. But today, on the morning of their departure, there was nothing but dread.
This morning it had been hard on them to leave the comfortable nest in his bed. The others had arrived and banged on his door for nearly a half hour. They’d finally broken it down completely, worried there was something wrong. That was the only reason he and Caroline had roused.
The plan was to ride in wagons drawn by horses to the east gates of the city and enter as merchants from Ellian, another Magica city to the north. Jessa had used magick on the horses so that they wouldn’t scent the dire wolves around them.
All of these details were being handled by Jessa. If there was ever a time to trust her, it was now. If this was a trap of some kind, they were walking right into it.
He shuddered. Not only would that be utterly devastating, it would be humiliating, and he would owe Caroline one hell of an apology. Caroline still didn’t fully trust Jessa or Logan.
“Are we almost ready?” called Logan.
“No,” said Caroline immediately. “And we never will be. Let’s go.” She glanced at Torrent, sighed, and trudged toward the wagon. She wore the odd black and white garb of a Magica female.
It would be a three-day journey by cart, but Jessa said authenticity would be rumpled and dirty traveling clothes when they arrived, so they’d dressed in the Magica garb now.
Above them, Kaitlyn-as-hawk cried her signal that they should move out. As the only one of them who could safely keep animal form, she would scout ahead and make sure all was well on their path.
The four of them, Logan, Jessa, Caroline and himself made their way to the wagon and mounted. He’d fought long and hard to keep Caroline from coming, but she was a strong woman and wouldn’t have any of it. He respected her strength and her choice. Although he worried about her safety, he understood her decision. He would have made the same one.
The wagon nearly overflowed with metal pieces and planks of wood, things that could be found anywhere and traced to nowhere. That would serve as their “wares.” Beneath that pile lay weapons. Certainly they might need them before this mission was through.
Caroline mounted on the rear lip of the wagon, her legs dangling over the edge. He hopped on beside her, and she laid her head on his shoulder, snuggling against him for his body warmth.
Gods…if only he could have a lifetime of this.
The wish was only that, a wish.
They traveled in near silence all day and into the night by the light of the full moon. When they finally stopped to get some rest, Caroline hopped down from the wagon and began to help make ready to camp. Torrent watched her go, then stepped to the ground and went off to hunt.
Since they were traveling incognito, they could have a fire. They didn’t have to hide all that much. If a Magica patrol happened by, they would hopefully be protected by their cover story and disguises.
When Torrent returned from the woods with two fat rabbits in hand, a merry fire burned in the center of the camp. Jessa, Logan, and Caroline were sitting around the fire, talking in low tones. Kaitlyn would return home for the night and rejoin their party tomorrow…likely after all the fireworks had been set off.
“Excellent,” said Logan with a smile, rising to take the rabbits from Torrent. “I’ll clean these up and we’ll put them on the spit. I’m starved. How about you?”
His gaze met Caroline’s over the campfire. He was hungry, all right…just not for food. He mumbled an uncommitted response to Logan and went over to be near his love. Holding out a hand, he said, “Want to take a walk?”
Caroline slipped her hand into his, rose, and followed him into the woods.
They strolled in silence, using a deer path to avoid the worst of the underbrush and tree limbs. Around them the night was alive, breathing—small twigs cracking underfoot, tiny birds cooing in the branches, the breeze rustling leaves above their heads.
“Caroline, I—”
She turned toward him suddenly. “Let’s run as dire wolves. Can we?”
He blinked, confused by her sudden desire to shift. “We’re still far from Magica territory. Yes, sure, we can run.”
“I need a good run, Torrent. I need to burn off a little of this sadness.”
He nodded. If only it were that easy.
They took off their clothes, folded them and laid them carefully on a nearby log. Caroline’s alabaster skin glowed silver in the moonlight. All he wanted was to catch her up in his arms and kiss every smooth, cool inch of it, but he knew that Caroline needed the run, the physical exertion to bury all the negative thoughts and emotions. That Caroline understood that a shift and a long, hard run could do that meant she was coming into her own as a dire wolf.
Caroline shifted without thought. One minute she was a woman, the next a sleek dark dire wolf. Effortless. Like she had been born to it. She padded into the underbrush.
He shifted and followed her. Matching her strides, he trotted alongside her, conveying nothing mentally, even though they could communicate that way.
All of a sudden, she bolted for the north. Not missing a beat, he followed her, their legs pounding out a beat of freedom on the forest floor. Muscles working, silky fur shining in the moonlight, bodies stretching against the cool night air, they ran and ran.
They shot out of the forest and ran over a flat plain. He knew where they were going and how to get back, something he wasn't sure Caroline had thought about in her grief-stricken state. Currently they were heading ever farther away from Mage territory...and covering ground quickly.
He would let her run until she'd exhausted her emotions. If he needed to carry her back, he'd do it gladly. This is what she needed. This is what they both needed.
He remembered going on runs like this with his father when he’d been a child. Their family had lived far from the village, on their own in the middle of the wilderness. Every day he and his father had hunted for the family. Torrent wished he could see them one last time, his parents, but they’d known for some time what the future held in store for him and they'd said what needed saying long ago. It was something Torrent thought everyone should do—never let words go unspoken because no one knew what the next day would bring.
His ultimate goal was keeping Caroline safe on this journey. If she got out this unscratched, he could go to his death and rest easy.
They ran for what seemed like half the night, but was probably only about forty-five minutes. Caroline ducked into a small group of trees and collapsed by a river, immediately shifting back to human form. She curled up into a ball at the edge of the water and sobbed.
Torrent stood over her for a long moment, his heart breaking. Shivering, she cried for him in the middle of the forest. She looked as alone as she soon would be. His throat closing with tears, he curled his body around hers and let her snuggle into his warm dire wolf coat. She turned to face him, her fingers tangling in the thick fur at his sides and nuzzled her face into his neck. He allowed her to cry it out, a cathartic act she needed as much as the run.
Once she'd wept herself dry, he shifted back to human and
held her against him. The ground was cold on his bare skin, but nothing could detract from the pleasure of holding his beloved in his arms. He would appreciate every last moment of this, bittersweet though it was.
She adjusted her body and sealed her mouth over his, her salty tears running down her cheeks, transferring to his and running into his mouth. He pulled her beneath his body, covering her, and slanted his mouth hungrily across hers.
Her kisses were not the sweet type—she wanted him. He wanted her too, with every ounce of his desire. His hands skated over her skin, memorizing every inch.
Chapter Ten
Tears stung Caroline’s eyes as Torrent enveloped her in his arms. His huge hands moved to her waist and slipped up the bare skin of her sides. His thumbs brushed back and forth against her waist, making her relax into his. The sensation of his body on hers mesmerized her.
He nipped her lower lip, dragging it slowly between his teeth. She shivered with pleasure, goose bumps rising on her flesh. Her cunt seemed to catch fire when his tongue slid in again to unhurriedly caress hers. She felt every stroke of it between her thighs.
Torrent didn’t simply kiss her; he made love to her mouth. Sometimes his tongue played with hers, then slipped out so he could nip at her lips, then he’d slant his mouth across hers to penetrate once more. The kiss was at times demanding, then soft, then the tease of something more. It stole her breath and made her want that more with heady lust.
He eased his hands down her hips to cup her rear and pulled her up against his body. His aroused cock pressed against her thigh and her cunt grew hotter, damper and more sensitive.
“Look at me, Caroline,” he murmured.
Tipping her head up, she met his gaze. She felt drunk.
“I want you to watch me while I pleasure you, Caroline. I want you to be one with this moment and remember it forever.”
Her eyes widened as Torrent eased down the length of her body and lowered his mouth to her clit. His gaze held hers as he sucked it between his masterful lips. Pleasure rippled through her body as he teased it, driving her quickly to the razor’s edge of a climax. She moaned and her eyes fluttered shut.