by Amy Sumida
“Drat,” I growled and tossed the charm on the blanket beside me.
“The chupacabras have been returned safely to Torr-Chathair,” Gage said gently, “we have investigated all that we can concerning their abductor, and there's nothing more to do at the moment. Let's worry about your enemy later.”
Gage stood and untied his leather pants. My eyes went wide as he casually slipped out of them and headed for the water. I gaped at his muscular thighs and... well, yes... that was very nice too, even when it wasn't standing at attention. Honestly, I hoped Gage was a shower, not a grower, because if that thing grew any more, this whole mating deal was off the table. But that ass... dear gods, the man had an ass built for biting. I was starting to salivate, just thinking about it.
“Are you coming?” Gage asked me over his shoulder.
“Nearly,” I muttered and tried to swallow past the dry lump in my throat.
“What was that?” Gage smiled knowingly.
“Nothing,” I called as I stood. Then I murmured to myself, “As in; here goes nothing.”
I shucked off my jeans and top, then decided to remove my underwear too, just to be fair. I turned around, and Gage was backlit by the wild sunset; the bright rays bursting around him as if he were a god of fire. I sighed, and then I saw his face. His eyes were burning gold again, and they roamed my body like he was going to stake a claim and make me his home. Gage lifted a hand to me slowly. I went forward and took it.
“I'm suddenly grateful that you have such a vengeful enemy,” he whispered. “I must thank him before I kill him.”
“What?” I blinked in shock.
“Without him, I wouldn't be standing here with you,” Gage said.
“Vivian's spell brought you here, not my enemy.”
“I wouldn't have left Torr-Chathair without reason.” Gage shook his head. “Her spell pulled me to you, but it wasn't why I came to the Human Realm.”
“Then my enemy has unwittingly saved my life.” I smiled up at him.
“I think he's saved mine as well,” Gage whispered then lifted my hand to kiss it lingeringly.
Then he drew me deeper into the water with him. It was the perfect seduction for a woman who was half-siren, and I wondered if Gage knew it. It didn't matter because I couldn't resist the call of the sea combined with the call of my soul mate. When Gage pulled me closer, I went eagerly; lifting my mouth to his to savor the salt on his lips.
The waves undulated gently around us, urging us closer together. I wrapped my body around Gage, and he lifted me higher on his chest. A moan escaped my lips as our intimate flesh came into contact with each other; his as hard as the sword he'd left on the beach. I ground up against him, and his hands clenched around my ass, pulling me in tighter. My hands slipped up his back, to his thick neck, across his massive shoulders, and over his bulging biceps—wherever I could reach. He was slick with water and so damn sexy in the fading light; all golden and glistening.
“Elaria,” Gage purred, “if you want me to stop, you must say so now. I can't take much more of this torment.”
“Don't ever stop,” I breathed the words into his kiss.
With a triumphant growl, Gage angled up into me, and I reached down to help him slide home. And it did feel like home; like the most perfect moment of pure bliss. I eased down on his length, and he pulled me up again. It was the wild beat that had driven countless lovers over the centuries, but which nonetheless felt new to me. The ocean rocked around us with each powerful movement, and inside me, the spell seemed to expand. We weren't quite there yet, but oh, we were so close. Just a little more feeling, a little more connection, a little more... and then I was crying out in pleasure to the twinkling, twilight sky.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Sunlight slanted through my bedroom windows, turning Gage's skin to gold in sexy swaths. I admired it through half-lidded eyes, letting the light bring me slowly back awake. We had spoken more about our families and our childhoods, both of which were supremely different. I told him about what I'd been going through lately, not just with the RS, but also the piece of kyanite in my throat, and how that had culminated in me acquiring a Shining One kingdom. That last bit shocked Gage a little, and he asked me why I hadn't told him sooner. I said it was like my saving the realms; it felt like bragging over something that hadn't been purely my accomplishment. The relic had made all of it happen; my spellsinging was just a doorway. Gage nodded with a smile, and I knew that he understood the importance of achieving your own victories. I liked that about him.
Then we had sex again, and again, and again. I was halfway in love with him, just a heartbeat away from claiming Gage forever, but even with all that had been exchanged between us, it was just one night. As much as I needed to speed things up, there's no rushing true emotions. I could pretend all I wanted, even say the words, but the spell would know the truth.
I sighed and drew my calf up Gage's thigh. I was on my back, half beneath him, and he had pulled a pillow lower on the bed, so he could rest partially on it and partially on my chest, without crushing me. His chin rubbed the top of my breast as he came awake, and the arm he had slung around my waist tightened. He gave my nipple a quick nibble before he looked up at me.
“Now, we can't go back,” he whispered.
“What?” I blinked down at him.
“Remember how I told you that I wasn't bound until we mated,” his voice was sleep-roughened and damn sexy. “Well, now I've claimed you.”
“Rather barbaric sounding.” I chuckled. “I guess the name Conan was appropriate.”
“You claimed me too.” He shrugged. “I didn't choose the wording, but I did choose you, Elaria, and that's what matters. Now, we are mated.” Gage sat up, sliding an arm beneath me so he could bring me with him. “Which means you are not alone in this. For griffins there is no 'death do us part.' I will either follow you into oblivion or mourn you until I do.”
“You seem surprisingly okay with that,” I observed.
“I am.” He stroked the hair away from my face with a smile. “Because I know we will love each other. There is no doubt in my mind that we are perfect together.”
“Maybe we are a little,” I teased.
“What?” Gage asked with more intensity than was warranted.
“I was just—”
“Sorry, not you, Elaria. My father is speaking to me,” Gage said gently, then lowered his gaze, focusing inward. “You did? Yes, of course. Uh, Father, wait. I have someone I need to bring back with me; someone you should meet.” Gage glanced at me, and I widened my eyes at him. “Yes, all right. We'll be there soon.”
“Your father found something?” I asked.
“He says there is some evidence of an intruder. He wants me to return, collect the information, and bring it here to be analyzed,” Gage reported.
“Does this mean I'm going to meet your parents?” I asked nervously.
“Are you scared, Spellsinger?” Gage teased me, nuzzling my neck.
“No, but I'm a little worried,” I admitted.
“It will be fine.” He slipped out of bed and started pulling on his clothes. “Wear your blue trousers; they will appreciate a woman warrior.”
“Blue trousers?” I frowned. “My jeans?”
“Jeans.” He repeated the word. “Strange name; but yes, those resilient pants.”
“All right.” I chuckled and hopped out of bed. “But I'm taking a shower first.”
“No!” Gage grabbed me before I made it to the bathroom. “You have my scent on you; it will make things easier for us.”
“You don't mean that they're going to smell me?” I lifted my brows in horror. “And you—on me!”
“Not in an obvious manner.” He rolled his eyes—something he'd picked up from me overnight. “Griffins have a good sense of smell. They will know you're important to me the instant they meet you, and that will gain you respect.”
“I get props for sleeping with you?” I laughed. “Well, ain't that a neat tw
ist. With humans, it's the other way around.”
“Humans don't like sex?” He looked shocked.
“No, they love sex, they just have negative opinions on women who engage in it as quickly as I did with you.”
“But you're my mate.”
“They don't mate like that.”
“Ah, right.” Gage scowled. “What about men who engage in sexual activity quickly?”
“Oh, you've just stepped into a double standard that has pissed women off for ages,” I huffed. “Men are considered more masculine if they sleep with lots of women. They are virile while women are called whores.”
“Hmm,” he considered it. “Now, that is barbaric.”
“Well said, griffin.” I nodded approvingly.
“It's not just my opinion; it's nature.” Gage shrugged. “They are imitating savage animals; males spreading their seed to promote the growth of the species while females are left to care for the young. Noble beasts establish nurturing relationships with their mates and bond, if not for life, then at least long enough for the young to mature. They care for their offspring as well as each other.”
“Noble beasts like lions and eagles?” I smirked knowingly.
“Just so.” He nodded sagely.
“Lions take a whole pride of females,” I pointed out.
“And the male protects them and looks after his family,” Gage countered. “Eagles also mate for life; they return to their nest every mating season.”
“I suppose that's sweet.” I frowned, thinking of the non-mating season, and wondered where birds slept when their nest was empty.
“Sweeter than mating with a flock of other birds and then scorning the females for accepting you,” he growled. “That is the definition of hypocrisy.”
“Very true.” I gathered my things; slipping my iPod down my top, my contact charm around my neck, and my travel stone into my pocket. My list of things that I never left home without had grown. “So, what would happen if they didn't smell you on me?”
“When I introduced you as my mate, they would call for proof,” he said.
“Proof?” I went still and stared him down.
“A courting ritual; nothing too intrusive,” Gage huffed. “We're a civilized people.”
“A courting ritual?” I wasn't convinced of the civilized part yet.
“One you couldn't participate in, which would make things very awkward.” He grimaced.
“Why couldn't I participate?” I stuck my hands on my hips. “I did just fine with you last night.”
“Again, your mind goes straight to sex.” Gage came over to me and grabbed my hips, angling his own against me. He smiled wickedly. “It's a courting ritual, not a mating one.”
“Then why?”
“Because you're not a griffin,” he said as if it were obvious, then he went back to wrapping all that leather around himself.
“Oh.”
“You need wings and claws to perform the death spiral,” he said casually.
“The what?” I gaped at him.
“A couple who find themselves attracted to each other will go to a high cliff, transform into their griffin forms, and leap off it together,” Gage explained. “They lock talons mid-air and plummet in a tumble as their lion hindquarters slash at each other. If one breaks off, their bond was not strong enough.”
“But don't they have to break away before they hit the ground?” I asked. “Not doing so sounds like it could be fatal, even for an immortal.”
“You prove your worth by holding on till the very end,” Gage said like it was obvious. “You let go of your lover only at the last moment, approximately ten feet from the ground.”
“It's like a game of chicken,” I whispered in horror. “A horrible, gory game of chicken involving someone you care about.”
“Chickens have nothing to do with it,” Gage growled.
“No, chicken is... never mind.” I waved it away. “That doesn't sound so civilized, Gage.”
“We are a warrior race,” he said. “Strength and fortitude are very important to us. We must be certain that we take a strong griffin to mate.”
“And what happens when a griffin mates someone of another race?”
“I don't know,” Gage went serious. “It's never happened before.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Relax, it will be fine,” Gage said after we reformed on Torr-Chathair.
“You just told me that I'm the first non-griffin anyone has ever brought home to mama, and you want me to relax?” I huffed. “This is insane.”
Then I took a good look around.
Gage had his own version of a traveling stone, but his was a preserved piece of eggshell—his shell. As in the egg that he was hatched from. Yep, Gage was hatched! The eggshell had creation magic in it that was aligned with him. After a griffin was born, its parents would enchant a piece of the egg and preserve it for their child. It allowed the griffin to journey through the realms in the same way a traveling stone does.
After showing me the rock-hard, polished piece of porcelain-esque eggshell, and then calming me down from the subsequent “You were hatched?” freak-out, Gage had embraced me and used his baby-griffin-shell to bring me to Torr-Chathair.
“It's beautiful, isn't it?” Gage asked in a reverent tone as he came to stand beside me.
I had wandered to the edge of the ledge he'd brought us to, without even realizing that I had moved. The view was of a glistening green valley, echoing with the cries of birds and beasts, and spotted with vivid colors. The forest spread back to the horizon, and it was green as far as the eye could see. It was also midday, with the sun shining bright overhead, but I stood in shadow. We weren't just on a ledge; we were also within the overhang of a cave... hundreds of feet above the forest floor.
“This is...” I turned to Gage and noticed that there was a door set into the cave wall behind him—a door recently opened by a stern-looking man with a strong resemblance to Gage. “Amaron,” I whispered.
“No, this is Saeiqa Territory; Amaron is my father's name,” Gage said slowly, as if he couldn't understand what had confused me, then he noticed the direction of my stare. “Oh, yes; that is Amaron. Hello, Father.”
“Gage,” Amaron nodded regally. “Who is this woman and how does she know my name?”
“This is Elaria Tanager.” Gage gestured me forward. “She's a spellsinger and a warrior. She recently saved the realms by stopping a Shining One invasion.”
“A Shining One invasion?” Amaron blinked in surprise. “Did they try to take the Earth again?”
“Yes.” I laughed. “They never seem to learn.”
“Stupid fucking fairies.” Amaron shook his head. “I assume you bore the witch relic?”
“Yes,” I said, even more surprised.
“Interesting that it took a spellsinger,” Amaron murmured.
“Why was I never told about such things?” Gage asked.
“There was no reason to tell you.” Amaron shrugged. “It has nothing to do with us; not our culture or our problem. We have enough to concern ourselves with as it is.”
I nodded and squished my mouth up in agreement. Don't go borrowing trouble; it's a good motto to live by.
“It would have been our problem if the Shining Ones had upset the balance of the realms,” Gage countered.
“The witches have always handled the Shining Ones,” Amaron argued. “And we have always trusted them to handle any issues concerning Earth, while we—”
That was when the wind shifted. Amaron broke off, mid-sentence, and took a deep breath. He looked at me in shock, and then toward his son.
“She's also my mate,” Gage confirmed.
“A spellsinger?” Amaron whispered. “Fucking falcon feathers! I send you to the Human Realm to hunt monsters, and you return with the rarest creature of all.”
“Um; I don't think I'm a creature per se,” I muttered.
“It was meant to be a compliment,” Gage whispered to me. “Griffins a
lso have a love of treasure, and a rare creature is precious.”
“We do not love it,” Amaron corrected. “We guard it. We are guardians.”
“Sure, Dad,” Gage said then gave me a look which said the opposite.
“A warrior, spellsinger mate for my son,” Amaron said proudly. “I couldn't be happier.” He clapped Gage on the shoulder and then turned to give me a hug. “You are most welcome here, Daughter.”
“Um, thank you.” I hugged him back tentatively, patting his leather-clad shoulder.