Moonlight and Magick

by Isobael Liu

  Before she could stop him, Matthias had shifted to his battle form and launched himself at her father. It definitely wasn’t like in the movies, where the werewolf writhed in pain as bones broke and skin tore to accommodate the monster’s form. No, it had been a seamless change. Matthias seemed to melt into mist and reformed into his battle form.

  Amras’s grin faded, when he spotted the eight-foot monster flying at him, with teeth bared in a fierce snarl. She knew Matthias was in a battle rage. She could feel, and see, the red haze of his mind and knew he’d kill Amras without hesitation unless she did something to stop him. So, she threw herself into his path.

  Not the brightest of ideas I’ve had .

  When they collided, it was as though a truck had hit her. However, Matthias had the presence of mind to realize she was in his way. He wrapped his arms around her and twisted his body so when they hit the table and the tile floor on the way down, his body cushioned hers, taking the brunt of the damage. Once they were on the floor, he rolled over so she was beneath him, his arms still wrapped around her. His body shifted a bit so he wasn’t putting his weight on her, but still shielding, protecting her. Matthias lifted his head and snarled at Amras, his ears pinned flat against his large skull.

  Lilian reached up and ran her fingers through the thick, black fur covering his chest, making a physical connection as she used their mental link.

  “Matthias. It’s all right. He won’t hurt me.” Amras had provoked her for a reason, but he hadn’t hurt her.

  The killing rage in Matthias seemed to ease a bit, but the beast was still in control, still possessive and protective of her.

  “It’s all right, I’m not hurt. He’s my father. It’s okay.”

  She kept her tone soft and soothing, as she pet him, allowed him to experience the pleasure she savored when she touched him.

  The red haze of his mind began to dissipate. Yet, all the while, he kept his golden eyes on Amras, watching him. Amras, to his credit, kept still and just waited, watched.

  “Matthias,” she said aloud.

  Matthias’s ears flicked up, flattened again, and lifted from his head once more. He tilted his head and looked down at her.

  “It’s okay.”

  He lowered his head, nuzzled against her arm and sniffed at her chest and neck. The rage in his mind lessened more, releasing him.

  Concern for her filled his mind. She could tell anger still possessed him, but it wasn’t an all-encompassing rage as before.

  “I’m fine.”

  Amras must have moved because Matthias’s body tensed and he snapped his head up to glare at him. Before she could say anything, Matthias gathered himself and stood, picking her up as well. She found herself situated in his large arms, his movements slow and careful. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her deliberately. It was in his mind and in the way he handled her, in the way he kept his claws from touching her skin.

  “I think I will retire,” Amras said.

  “You can use this room,” she offered, keeping her eyes on Matthias.

  “I must return through the Mists, but I will return. I will send a warning ahead.”

  Lilian nodded. “All right. Good night, Father.”

  When Amras had gone, Matthias relaxed and looked down at her. He carried her to the bed, shifting back to human form as he did so.

  He was still angry, she realized. His body remained tense, his mind a bit hazy.

  “Not angry,” he said aloud, although his tone was tight and growling.

  Lilian lifted a brow.

  “Not angry,” he repeated.

  “Intense then.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  He laid her on the bed. She started to ease back but froze when he growled in warning. “Don’t move.”

  Her heart raced and she couldn’t help but breathe harder. His eyes were melting her; the way they seemed to burn her with their heat. His hands came up and undid the pins holding the peplos closed at the shoulders. Her eyes widened.

  “Matthias?” Her voice shook.

  “Shh,” he said.

  She hushed.

  His roughened fingers brushed against the sensitive skin of her collarbone as he removed the golden pins. He lowered his head and, with infinite care and gentleness, kissed her lips, light brushes as though testing his welcome. She lifted her hands up to his face, but he captured her wrists and pushed her hands down onto the bed, on either side of her head, holding her in place. Her lips parted in a soft gasp and he deepened the kiss, his tongue moving against her lips and into her mouth.

  Breathless, hot, and restless, she twisted her wrists in his hold, just a little as her body moved on the bed with a growing yearning.

  He tasted like wine and wildness, something exotic and untamed and she moaned.

  Matthias pulled away from her mouth and plied kisses along her jaw, her neck, to her left collarbone. He scraped his teeth against the sensitive skin and she whimpered and shivered. He released her wrists and traced his hand down her arms to the top of the peplos, where he began to drag it down, oh so slowly revealing more of her skin to his golden gaze.

  As the material moved over her skin, it was a sensual torture; it tickled and caressed. His lips were hot as he traced the path the garment took and his breath made goose bumps rise up on her skin as it cooled the damp trail his lips left.

  She arched up from the bed with a soft cry as he took one of her pebbled nipples into his mouth and suckled it, his tongue flicking against the tip. Her gut clenched and her nether region throbbed in response. His hand caressed her other breast, palming it, and she threw back her head in pleasure. He took the opportunity to lower the peplos further, and pulled the garment from her body, leaving her naked except for her cream colored panties. Air currents made by his movements caressed her skin and it only added to the erotic experience.

  Matthias switched to her other breast and paid homage there before he began to trail damp kisses along her skin, moving downward. The muscles of her stomach jumped and twitched beneath his lips and she couldn’t help but to move on the bed, unable to lie still beneath his roving kisses.

  When he played around her belly button, she giggled at the ticklish sensation. She felt his lips tilt up into a smile as his tongue dipped into the well before he moved further downwards. His fingers glided against the skin just above the waistband of her panties and she froze.

  “Shh,” he whispered as he slid her panties down.

  “Matthias,” she started to protest.

  Lilian yearned for him, even as naked as she was. He removed her panties and dropped them over the side of the bed, lifting his head to look at her, splayed before him. She shivered in reaction; the sensations were far beyond what she had ever experienced before, and it made her ache and whimper.

  With incredible gentleness, he touched her sex. A finger caressed over her nether lips, wet with the fluids of her arousal, and she jumped from the sensation. His fingers drifted over her clit, causing her to moan and Matthias rumbled his approval. He caressed her clit, rubbing and tickling it with his fingertip. She whimpered and writhed beneath him.

  “That’s it, baby,” he murmured against her stomach, tilting his head a bit in order to watch her expressions play across her face.

  Desire rose in her when Matthias looked at her with such hunger in his eyes. He lowered his head, his tongue replacing his finger.

  Lilian’s legs tried to close in shock, but his body kept her from doing so. No one ever told her how intense oral sex could be.

  His tongue flicked against her clit and she cried out. Her body jerked, and her hands clenched the blanket beneath her. He grasped her thighs and opened her legs wider.

  She was close, her breathing was ragged and quick, her legs trembled, and the tension building inside of her, like a predator about to pounce.

  His tongue moved down to her opening, his thumb coming to rub her clit. A couple more moments and she cried out, her body coming up off the bed in a tight
arch. Matthias pressed his mouth to her sex, lapped up her juices, his tongue delving inside of her for more, rumbling and growling with pleasure and hunger.

  When she finally collapsed back onto the bed, panting and trembling, he lifted his head and tore at his own clothes, tossing them aside.

  It wasn’t until his body settled over hers, feeling his heat, the muscles and the hardness of his toned form, she roused enough to open her eyes. His eyes were intense, watching her as one hand reached between them to hold his arousal steady as he placed himself at her opening. She stared up at him, feeling his hunger, causing hers to come alive again. She shifted her body, rubbing against him.

  Was it an invitation? Had she done it without conscious thought for more, or had it been her nervousness? She didn’t know, and didn’t care once he started to press into her, entering her with care.

  Her eyes widened in shock, feeling his entrance as a seductive invasion. When Matthias reached her hymen, he leaned down to kiss her, a hungry and demanding kiss, and only when she pressed her hips up toward him did he push through the last barrier of her innocence, taking her and making her his. He was filling her, stretching her, creating sensations she had never imagined could exist.

  Lilian’s active life ensured the breaching wasn’t as painful as it could have been, a mere pinch, a soft gasp, and it was over, but the resulting sensation of the act amazed and astounded her. As Matthias pressed all the way inside of her, he moaned. Even his moan was sensual to her, as she was the cause. She wanted to remember this for all time, every moment of this experience! She moved a bit beneath him and a sense of needing more consumed her.

  Bracing his hands on either side of her head, he began to withdraw, and then thrust back inside of her. She whimpered and writhed in reaction, and soon, she moved in time with him, their bodies meeting one another. He leaned down to kiss her jaw, her neck, nipping the sensitive curve there, and along her collarbone.

  Her body reacted to the sensations of him inside of her. The strength of his thrusts, the hardness of his arousal, the heat of his body moving above hers, drove her to the edge. Her nostrils flared as she took a deep breath, taking in their scents, their combined arousal and passion. Her body tightened as it journeyed closer to orgasm and he growled.

  She moved with increasing need and he bit down on her collarbone, hard enough to sting, to keep her in place, but not to break skin.

  Lilian screamed as her orgasm ripped through her. Matthias followed her, and his roar, somewhat muffled by the bite he had on her, was still loud and filled with satisfaction and pleasure.

  She lay there, trembling and panting, her mind going a million miles per hour even though her body worn and exhausted by everything. Matthias lay on top of her, although he still braced himself not to crush her.

  “Ever thoughtful and protective,” she thought with a smile.

  “I am.”

  It startled her, hearing his voice in her head. She tried to withdraw the mental connection, but became even more surprised and confused to learn this connection wasn’t done through her telepathy.

  “Matthias?”

  He slid to one side, bracing his head on a palm, his elbow holding him up as he looked down on her.

  “Hmm?” he asked.

  His eyes roamed over her exposed body and she blushed.

  “Stop it. How is it you can communicate telepathically?”

  He grinned and reached out with his free hand to caress her stomach. “Mating.”

  Lilian’s breath caught in a soft gasp at the awakening sensations he caused. “So how many other women can you communicate telepathically with?”

  Matthias’s eyes widened. “What?”

  “You couldn’t have been a virgin, so there must have been others,” she said.

  His hand roamed down toward her sex and she shivered.

  “True, I’ve been with others, but I’ve never spent myself in them.”

  Lilian wiggled a little. “I don’t understand.”

  Of course, he wasn’t helping her by reawakening desire in her body.

  “The mating is caused by spilling my seed inside of you.”

  His fingers played along her sex, and she moaned. Her hips lifted up to his fingers, wanting more.

  “What does it mean?” Her words spoken soft and breathless.

  He leaned down to kiss her, but she turned her head away.

  “No. Stop trying to distract me and explain what’s going on.”

  He nibbled along her collarbone instead.

  “We’re a mated couple now. We share the ability to communicate with one another telepathically, much like your ability with others.”

  Lilian tensed, anger building within her. “Oh, really? And at any moment did you ever, oh, I don’t know, stop to think whether or not I wanted this?”

  He lifted his head to look at her. “You dreamt it.”

  “I did not!”

  “Yes, you did, when you dreamt of the two of us together running as wolves.”

  Lilian pushed him back and struggled to sit up. “That was a dream, Matthias! You can’t just make decisions which affect my life without consulting me!”

  “No, it wasn’t just a dream. I’ve known almost from the time I met you.”

  Lilian punched him in the shoulder. “Move!”

  He winced and moved back. She sat up and pulled a sheet over her to cover her nakedness.

  “You’re so arrogant, you can’t see what you did wrong, can you? You made the decision to tie my life with yours without even asking me if it’s what I wanted. What makes you any better than Stephan?”

  Matthias growled. “I would never hurt you, let alone raise a hand to strike you.”

  “No, but you’re trying to control my life and that makes you just as bad. Is there a way to end it? A divorce?”

  “No.”

  Lilian lifted a brow at his succinct answer.

  “No, as in there’s not, or no, as in you’re not going to tell me?”

  At least he had the decency to look a little shamed.

  “Hmm. So there is and you aren’t going to tell me.”

  Matthias used his body to push her back down onto the bed so she was beneath him once more. His eyes almost glowed with his anger and possessiveness. Touching his mind, she could tell he didn’t want to even consider the idea of them parting ways. She didn’t understand the possessiveness in him. They didn’t know one another very well, and yet he was so sure they were fated to be together. She hadn’t even considered the possibility of being with anyone, not with the Custodes Secreti after her.

  He kissed her with his pent-up anger, pain, and fear of her leaving him. Feeling his emotions, she wondered how she could leave him now. So, she kissed him back as she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close.

  “We’ll discuss this later.”

  “Later,” he repeated.

  * * * *

  Lilian was sitting outside with Helena, enjoying tea and conversation when Matthias woke.

  “Lilian? Where are you?” He sounded vexed.

  “Outside, sleepyhead.” She was amused by his tone.

  “I’d rather wake up with you beside me.”

  “Yeah, not going to happen if you’re such a lazy butt.”

  “Lazy? Did you just call me lazy after last night and this morning’s marathon of sex?”

  “Stop beating your chest. I need to go to work so hurry up and drive me into town.”

  “I’m not sure I can drive you into town, being lazy and all.”

  “You’re such a baby. I’ll ask Tiberius then.”

  She heard his laughter in her mind. “Where are you, mate?”

  “I’m with your mother, telling her all the bad things you did to me.”

  “Be sure to include that you begged for more and moaned with pleasure while doing so.”

  Lilian choked on the sip of tea she’d just taken and coughed to clear her windpipe. Helena patted her on the back with some bemusement and alar
m.

  “Are you all right?” Helena asked.

  Lilian nodded and used a napkin to wipe her mouth. When she could speak, she replied, “Yes, thank you. Your son.”

  Helena smiled. “Ahh. I can just imagine.”

  Lilian shook her head. “Are they all like that?”

  “Arrogant and yet like little boys? Yes. Every one of them. It’s the Roman and Lupine genetics, I’m afraid.”

  Matthias rounded the corner and just catching sight of him took her breath away. She watched how he moved, how he smiled when he saw her, and her insides melted.

  Helena leaned in to whisper to her. “You’re glowing.”

  Lilian blushed and tore her eyes away from Matthias to sip her tea, and to catch her breath. Helena chuckled.

  “Mother,” Matthias said in greeting.

  Helena nodded to him. “Matthias.” She gave him a hard look.

  He lifted a brow. “What?”

  “You better not let this one slip away,” Helena said.

  Lilian wondered if it was possible for someone to die of embarrassment.

  “What did you tell my mother?”

  “Nothing!”

  “Hmm.”

  “Thank you for the tea, Helena. I need to go to work now.” She looked at Matthias. “The truck, not the motorcycle.”

  He grinned. “She’s afraid of the motorcycle.”

  Helena smiled at her. “I’m not all that keen on it myself, but I’m his mother. It’s my job to worry.”

  Matthias helped Lilian stand after she had put her teacup down.

  “Go ahead and I’ll be right there,” she told Matthias.

  Matthias nodded and headed off to get the truck. She turned and looked at Helena.

  “The little girl? Is she all right?” she asked.

  “The one you healed? Yes, perfectly fine. Her mother will wish to speak with you, to thank you.”

  Lilian shook her head. “No need. I didn’t do it for the gratitude. It was something I had to do.”

  Helena smiled. “All right.”

  Lilian turned, and headed off to the parking area. As she rounded the corner, she was shoved from the side. It was only due to her training she managed to stay on her feet and not go sprawling into the dirt. She turned to face her attacker.