by C. D. Gorri
“That was-” Fred couldn’t find the words. Her mind raced with questions. Was this love? Was this a matebond? Whatever it was, it left her breathless. A second later and the dragon was gone, replaced by the man. He was just as striking in his black clothes, with his dark hair, and glowing golden eyes.
“That was what?” White smoke streamed from his mouth as he spoke to her.
“This is insane,” chills raced up and down her spine as she tried to get control over her body, “I want you so badly. With every single piece of me, even my Wolf is howling in my mind closer than she’s ever been without the full moon.”
“I know, my Dragon senses her and calls out. He has found his mate in her. Just as I have found mine, in you.”
“But it’s so fast-”
“A lifetime can be lived in a single moment, I’ve lived for nigh on six centuries and I swear I’ve never felt alive until I met you.”
“Callius, I-”
“I want to go inside with you, Winifred,” he stepped closer to her, almost close enough to touch, but not quite, “I can feel your desire, my love. It’s making me ache with need. Let me love you. Let me show you how it will be between the two of us. Will you make me wait much longer?”
“I want to. I really do, but I’m afraid.”
“I swear on my life I would never harm a single hair on your beautiful head.”
“No, not afraid that you’ll hurt me, but, what if I’m not enough for you?”
“You are my everything, Winifred, my all. Es meus. In aeternum.”
Every nerve ending in her body stood on edge. She stepped closer to him, her body swaying with the movement. Callius. He reached a hand out and brushed back a wisp of hair from her face.
The touch was light and so full of feeling it made her head spin. He exhaled slowly and his smoky scent floated into her nostrils. Fred willingly breathed him in. Mmm. Applewood and cinnamon whiskey.
“Can I have you?” He tugged her gently to him, allowing her to feel the heat of his body without being overly possessive.
He brushed her forehead with soft, warm lips. Fred closed her eyes and held her breath. Desire was one thing, but tenderness, well that was something else entirely. She answered his question before, but she felt he deserved to hear it again.
“Yes, Callius, oh yes, you can have me.”
“Thank the Gods,” he seemed to whisper to no one in particular.
He trailed kisses down her face until he finally reached her lips. Fred swore she felt the world itself turning. In and out, round and round, gravity and momentum all that held her in place. Her heart thudded in her chest as entire galaxies of feelings seemed to be created and destroyed in the seconds they were connected.
He was like the tide sweeping her away in this all-consuming wave of need and passion. Callius. His name played over and over again in her mind as she wound herself around him. Arms and legs and entwined, Fred held on to him and kissed him back with everything she had. She felt herself fall deeper and deeper under his spell with every stroke of his masterful tongue.
Nothing had ever felt so right. She reached up and held his face right where she wanted him. A small smile played at his lips then vanished while their kiss grew from sweet flirtation to intense desire. Grrr. Mine. Fred gasped for air as he broke their kiss.
“I hear your Wolf howling. She cries out for me to claim you, for our bond to be sealed, don’t you hear her? Can’t you feel how right this is?”
“It’s so strange, Callius. I can hear her, in a muffled sort of way. The moon is too far though, I shouldn’t be able to hear her at all.”
“The Curse of Natalis, yes, I have heard of it.”
“It’s been so long, I am not sure there are any living Werewolves who remember what it was like before he cursed us to live separately from our Wolves. Only to become one during the full moon.”
“I am sorry, I cannot imagine being apart from my Dragon.”
“Thank you, but it is not your fault.”
“I cannot change the past, but I can promise to be here for you, Winifred, from now until the eternity,” he trailed kisses down her throat and neck.
Fred trembled under his careful ministrations, and he was so very careful. He didn’t rush or overwhelm her with his obvious skill. He was patient. Kissing and stroking, teasing her senses. He held her loosely as if he was waiting for her to wrap her mind around the idea that she was his.
My mate. My only. Together we are stronger, better. Mine. Fred’s snow-white Wolf seemed to whisper in her mind. All the things she was feeling. Every doubt suddenly vanished under the strength of her emotions. The diamond rose on her neck tingled with each passing moment, as if it too felt their bond growing stronger with every passing second.
Fred knew that she should step back, calculate all the possibilities. Wait, don’t rush, you’ve been burned before. But logic and reason had no place in her mind right then. She moaned as his lips found a sensitive spot just below her earlobe.
He kissed and licked and nibbled. Anticipating her every desire. It was like he knew her better than she knew herself. In a span of just a few hours. Fred’s heart pounded, a sudden panic filled her.
He was doing things to her mind and body she was not ready for. Maybe she would never be ready. Maybe she was meant to be alone. How could she trust herself after Josh?
Then she saw her Wolf in her mind’s eyes. She was strong. She ran on instinct and faith. Fred’s heart pounded as that fierce strength filled her. I am here.
“Did you do this? Why can I hear her?” Tears escaped Fred’s eyes.
“My sweet Fred, it is the strength of our bond that brings you closer to her.”
“I’m sorry I’m always emotional when I talk about my Wolf out of time with the Full Moon. It’s hard on all Werewolves to be separated from their other selves, and I get that, but for me, well it’s worse.”
“How do you mean?”
“Um, well some find the separation too difficult to carry on with their lives.”
“Hush, don’t speak like that. I will do everything I can to help you, Winifred.”
“No, not me, but my brother,” her thoughts momentarily turned dark, and Callius stopped kissing her immediately.
He turned her face up as he held her in his arms and traced a lone from her temple to her chin. His gold eyes stared at her as if she were something precious to behold. Fred wondered if anyone had ever looked at her like that before.
“I am so sorry, my love. I can’t imagine being separated from my Dragon even for an instant and the hurt that I would suffer if one of my brothers were slain, I cannot fathom. Your pain is understandable, but still, I would do anything to stop it.”
“It’s not something I enjoy discussing, but it’s a fact of life for me and so many others.”
“Then it is a fact that I vow to change.”
Fred believed him. The depth of his sincerity and the verity of his vow touched her in a way she hadn’t expected. A deep rumbling sound vibrated in his chest as he kissed her lips, sealing his promise.
Could he really be her mate? She wanted to believe it, she wanted to belong to someone. But what if he was wrong? What if he changed his mind?
“There is a rumor about a young girl, a Wolf, who’s trying to break the curse. But it seems like a fairytale,” Fred kept talking, trying to break the spell he was weaving with his kisses.
“Ah, you mean like Werewolves and Dragons,” Callius smiled against her neck.
“I guess,” she grinned.
“Well, we are very real, Winifred. This is very real. I am yours, completely, as you are mine.”
One moment she was standing in his arms, the next he lifted her right off the ground. Fred gasped as he pressed her against his body. All her doubts vanished, all she could do was feel. Hunger, desire, passion.
Fred lived for so long with loneliness as her constant companion. Ever since her brother took his own life. She attempted to fill the gap with shallow relati
onships like the one she had with Josh, but who was she kidding? How could Josh ever really know her?
He couldn’t. Not like this. The short hours she spent with Callius were more honest than the months she’d been with Josh. She saw that now.
“I need you, my love. Let us seal our bond completely,” his whispered plea tickled the hair at the base of her neck.
Fred’s head fell back as he kissed her throat. She didn’t want to think, she only wanted to feel, but a decision needed to be made. Had she really let her own insecurities blind her to Josh’s faults? She didn’t love him. She couldn’t have. Not when her heart was pounding the way it was inside of her chest while Callius’ arms held her.
Sure, Josh took off. He made her feel insecure. Unsure if she could trust herself. He left her broke. But not broken. She was far from it. She felt alive for the first time in her life.
She looked at the face of the man, the Dragon, who wanted to claim her as his mate, for always.
“I need you too, Callius. Come with me.”
CHAPTER 9
Callius lifted his mate in his arms. She was lighter than he expected for a Werewolf. And so very beautiful. He’d never seen anything as hypnotizing as the silver in her eyes and the gold in her hair. She was precious as any horde of treasure he’d ever seen, more so. It sent a rush of fierce pride through Callius’ veins.
Es meus.
He wanted to shout it across the universe. Five hundred years he waited to find her. His one true mate. She who was worthy of his diamond rose. Five centuries of imagining, picturing her. And yet she superseded all expectation.
She was breathtaking. Beautiful, smart, honest and fierce as only a Wolf could be. Everything he ever wanted and so much more. His arms tightened for a minute as he opened the front door to her home.
The house was a little worse for wear, but yes, he agreed it had potential. He smelled the salty sea air and smiled. He’d grown up with that smell. It had often been his solace. The street was private and secluded. There were no other houses for nigh on a mile or more.
Potential. The place definitely had potential. Tomorrow he would get a better look. He had something much more important to do at the moment.
His Dragon growled in his mind. He demanded Callius eradicate every trace of sadness he felt emanating from his mate just moments ago. He would not have her feel unhappy for all the world.
No, he would see her smile in ecstasy before this night was through. That was a promise. The thought of her spread out before him made his heart race. He could not wait another moment to delve into her sweet body.
Go slowly with her. Gently. He told himself harshly. She deserved every bit of restraint he could muster. He did not wish to frighten her in his ardor. He would worship her with his body this night.
“Which way?” he rumbled. His voice nearly unrecognizable in his desire.
He looked at her face. He was afraid he may have frightened her with his gravelly voice, but it would seem to have had the opposite effect. His Fred’s eyes were heavy-lidded with desire as she pointed to a narrow staircase. He took the steps three at a time and opened the door to her bedroom with a bang.
What she called an apartment was no more than one large room. His eyes had no trouble finding the bed in the darkness and he headed straight for it with his sweet burden. He landed on top of the plush blankets with her neatly tucked underneath him.
“Now, I have been waiting to do this since I laid eyes on you,” he licked a slow trail from her lips over her exposed skin to her navel. Pepper and honey. So good. He needed more.
His mate responded to his attentions with enthusiasm and more passion than he’d prepared for. Her moans of pleasure excited him. Callius wondered what other noises he could pull from her, and he intended to find out.
She gripped his head and tugged his lips down to hers jogging him from his musings. Her tongue was slick and wet with her desire, soft and warm like sinking into a hot spring. She sucked and nipped, licked and tangled with his, she held nothing back. Swirling around and around in the deep cavern of her mouth, Callius kissed his mate with everything he had.
Her silver eyes bore into his as their lips met again and again. Beautiful. Captivating. And mine. He growled and undulated his hips against hers, cursing the clothing that separated them. As if she read his mind, her nimble fingers began to unbutton his shirt.
He hissed out a breath as she skimmed her cool fingertips over his heated skin. He had little hair on his chest and belly. His skin was a golden bronze color, much darker than her milky white pigment. When she could no longer reach the buttons, Fred grabbed the material in both hands and ripped his shirt in two.
It’d been years, decades even, since Callius felt the softness of a woman beneath him. His jailer preferred to keep him hungry and isolated with no relief save a Dragon’s long memory. Callius marveled as she continued her exploration of his body. Her clever hands made him burn with desire and every single one of those memories fled his mind. None of his encounters could compare to the stunning sight that was his mate aroused.
He licked the side of her throat and felt the pulse of her heartbeat there. It pleased him to feel it speed up under his careful ministrations. Callius’s chest rumbled with pleasure. It was as if his heart and soul had finally become whole after living a half-life for eons.
He almost lost himself as Winifred dipped her hands further down to the waistband of his pants. Not yet, my sweet. No, it was his turn to touch, to explore. He needed to see her. He was desperate to feel, to taste every inch of her and, most of all, he needed to be inside of her. Now.
The hours since he marked her with his bite had ticked away slowly. The fact that he still hadn’t consummated their vow was making him tremble with need. As they kissed and touched and rubbed Callius panted with the need to claim her.
He felt as though he would explode right then and there if he did not have her. His Dragon roared in his mind as he brought her to as frenzied a state of arousal as he was in. Seal the bond. Es meus. It was all but consuming him. His Dragon demanded he do it. Now.
“Winifred Castillo, I mean to make you mine, here and now,” he growled in her ear.
“Yes.” Her soft reply was all he needed.
The diamond rose. The most precious gift he had to give. It was hers. She was the one. His other half. His soulmate. His castle. Mine. Her bar uniform barely covered her, but it was still too much. He needed her, bare and beneath him.
“This, off, now,” he nuzzled her stomach while his hands made short work of her top.
“Yes, please,” Fred moaned and helped him free her breasts from her lacy, black bra.
Callius growled again as his eyes feasted on her bare skin. His cock hardened painfully in his tight leather pants. His eyes hardly knew where to look. His mate was gloriously nude, all full of peaks and valleys, miles of soft, smooth skin stretched out before him. And he meant to taste every inch. She was pale in the moonlight coming from the open window. She was stunning. Toned and tight, soft and round, in all the right places.
Her breasts were high and firm, topped with rosy nipples that pebbled under his tongue as he took first one then the other into his mouth. She groaned as he licked, sucked, and scraped each one gently with his teeth.
“Beautiful, mi Castillo,” he growled and did what he’d been dying to since he first laid eyes on her. He reached up with his hands, his mouth never leaving her breasts, and took the ribbon out of her long blonde hair. He fanned it out behind her head while he continued to suckle her sweet body.
This was how he had pictured her, with her long platinum waves flowing around her beautifully flushed face as he claimed her. He stood up reluctantly, a smile teased his lips at here groan of disappointment. Silver eyes watched him as he undid the fastenings of his pants.
Callius slowly removed every inch of his clothing. He knew he was well-built, years as a warrior left every inch of his frame covered in muscle. Her eyes ate him up, she obviously ap
proved of his physique for which he was ever grateful. He felt his cock jut out proudly under her intense stare, finally free of that blasted confining material.
He throbbed under her scrutiny and nearly came right as he watched her bite down on her plump bottom lip. She shines like treasure. Her eyes glowed a brilliant silver in the semi-darkness.
Callius groaned when she reached out with her long fingers and traced a long line slowly up his swollen cock. She stopped at the head, swirling her thumb over the sensitive tip before slowly making her way down again. She repeated the movement, increasing speed and pressure. Again, and again, until he was panting just to get some air.
She knelt on the bed and leaned forward, the slight creek in the mattress the only noise in the room. He froze in position, afraid to break the tentative contact. He watched the sway of her full breasts and throbbed in response.
And here he thought he’d have to seduce her into bed. She dipped her head down without any warning at all and took the tip of his shaft into her hot mouth.
“Winifred,” Callius growled her name and threw his head back.
She teased him with her tongue. Sucking gently, then backing off, working him into a stupor. Her hand traced the rest of his length and ended at the very bottom of his manhood. He watched with wide, gold eyes.
His eyes taking in every gesture, every movement. She was a goddess on her knees. Her mouth a thing of magic, made just for him. She cupped him and he hissed. All the while, she continued to lick and suck, slowly building pressure as she took him more fully into her mouth. Callius needed to pace himself or it would all be over before he even started.
“No, let me, my mate,” he gently lifted her head up, kissing her full on the mouth before easing her back down on the bed.
Callius exhaled the breath he’d been holding. Her eyes were heavy lidded with desire as she opened her legs wide for him. His mate. He purred deep in is throat as he spread her even farther and licked a trail from the exposed skin of stomach to her hard-tipped breasts and then back, to her sweet mouth.