by Iris Abbott
She remembered the wolf she saw earlier and how she thought it morphed into Justin. She didn’t want to ruin the mood between them by bringing it up now, so she remained silent. She ran her hand over a few more of the carvings. “This is amazing. Do you know the artist?”
“My grandfather was a talented craftsman. He made this bed for me when I was just a boy. Mitch has one very similar to it. We both treasure them.”
“You should. This is incredible.”
Justin wrapped his arms around her abdomen and kissed her neck. “Enough about the bed. I’m not done making you feel good, not by a long shot,” he reminded her.
Lips skated across the sensitive skin on her neck. She arched her back and moaned as he lightly sucked the delicate flesh into his mouth. Shivers raced down her spine and spread through her body. This time it was from extreme pleasure and not shock and cold weather.
Justin guided her onto the bed, and before Rose knew it, she was lying face down. She folded her arms, placed them under her head, and tried to relax. That was easier said than done when his touch caused her body to burn. His thighs straddle her hips, and her body tensed in delicious anticipation.
Powerful, warm fingers and hands grasped her shoulders and kneaded the achy flesh. Another moan of pleasure escaped from between her parted lips. Hands slid down her spine, pressing and rubbing until Rose thought she might melt into a puddle of liquid goo. Languid warmth started at his touch and spread outward to the rest of her body.
Her relaxed state didn’t last for long. Her nipples pebbled, and the most feminine part of her body ached to be touched and filled by Justin. The massage turned into a form of torture, and she couldn’t take it anymore.
“Justin,” she groaned. “I want you inside me. Now! Please don’t make me wait anymore,” she begged.
He moved to the side and stretched out next to her. She could feel the hard length of his body pressed against hers. She rolled so that they faced each other. One hand caressed his chest while the other pushed his face close to hers. Their lips meet for a kiss that increased in intensity the longer it lasted.
Rose’s mind went blank. She couldn’t think, only feel. When she finally tore her mouth from his to gulp in a breath of air, she found herself flat on her back with Justin lounging over her.
“I told myself when we finally made love I was going to take it slow and savor the experience, but I can’t. My erection is throbbing from the need for you.” His hands glided over her breasts. He rolled each of her turgid nipples between a thumb and forefinger then gave them a light tug.
Rose’s sex clenched, and her muscles tensed. Before she could blink, his knee nudged her legs further apart, and he settled his body between her legs. His erection glided over her sex and slid between her nether lips. She gave a startled cry of pleasure when his stiff sex rubbed against that most sensitive spot. The usually hidden bundle of nerves now rigid and begging for attention.
He slid his erection against her heated skin one more time. Rose held her breath in anticipation of what was to come. Strong hands cradled her hips and slid under her bottom, lifting her off the bed. The head of his heavy erection nudged against her opening. He gradually entered her body inch by glorious inch.
She tried to arch her hips, but Justin used his hands to keep her still. Her head rolled to the side, and she moaned his name. His erection stretched and filled her. It caressed every nerve ending inside her feminine core. The delicious tingle of nerves sharpened. She needed more.
Justin seemed to sense her need. He loosened the grip on her hips. He slowly withdrew and pushed inside at the same time that Rose arched her back and swiveled her hips to meet his thrusts. They found a matching rhythm that steadily increased in pace. Both bodies raced to the finish line in a race to ecstasy.
Justin sucked one of her painfully hard nipples into his mouth. His teeth scraped across the sensitive bud, and her back arched off the bed. She rotated her hips, urging him deeper. It wasn’t enough. Rose locked her legs around him, keeping him locked deep inside her.
A thousand pleasurable sensations washed over Rose. Her body bowed, her toes curled. Justin thrust inside her body, setting nerves on fire. A tiny tremble started deep inside her. She scraped her nails down his back and screamed his name.
Her heart pounded! The building tremors spread. Her body quivered. Pleasure like she’d never known before gripped her. The coiled tension suddenly broke loose. She writhed against him, lost in her release.
Rose shuddered all over as climax took over her body. He bucked and moaned above her, his actions a frenzied, passion-filled dance. The hoarse scream of her name and the rippling of his body let her know he reached his own fulfilling climax.
****
Faded rays of light from the sinking sun right before dusk was all that was left to illuminate the room. Rose was cuddled into Justin’s side, and it felt like home. Her body was sated, but she couldn’t sleep. The problem was the urgent questions she needed answered.
Evidently, Justin had no such problem sleeping. She slipped out of bed and took a quick shower to freshen up. Her muscles were more than a little sore from her many adventures. The hot water cascaded over Rose. It instantly rejuvenated her and eased the tightness in her body.
The shower door opened and a warm body stepped in next to her. Justin rubbed her back and quickly washed his own body. Rose took the sponge from him and returned the favor by scrubbing his back. He kissed her, and she let him, but when he tried to deepen the kiss, she pulled away.
“Justin, I need to talk about what I saw this afternoon,” she gave him a pleading look and hoped he understood.
“Frankly I’m surprised it took you this long to broach the subject. He turned off the water. They stepped out of the shower and quickly dried off. He held out the robe for her.
Rose slipped into the comforting garment and walked into the bedroom in time to see Justin slip into a tight pair of faded jeans. She sat on the edge of the bed and waited for him to join her. She tightly clasped her hands together and held them in her lap. She didn’t want to spoil the delicate relationship that existed between them, but she couldn’t keep quiet. This was about her peace of mind, and that was important too.
“I saw a wolf after the attack,” she reminded him. She unclenched her hands and grabbed onto the comforter. “That might not be so weird since I was sent here to investigate reported wolf sightings.” She sighed. He was going to think she was as crazy as a loon.
“The thing is… right after the attack, I couldn’t find you, just the wolf.” She rubbed her face. It looked like the wolf morphed into you right before my very eyes.” There it was. She’d said it out loud. She glanced up at him and waited for the laughter that didn’t come.
Instead, she got a very grave look and a nod. “Wondered how long it was going to take you to bring up the change.”
Rose’s eyes widened, and she sucked in a quick breath of air for lungs that suddenly felt deflated. “What!” Her eyes narrowed, and she frowned. “You aren’t even going to try and deny it?”
Now it was Justin’s turn to narrow his eyes. “Do you want me to?”
“Well, only if it’s not true. It’s not really possible is it?” She suddenly remembered the headboard and glanced back at it before she returned her gaze to Justin.
He took the clenched fist closest to him and loosened the fingers enough to entwine them with his own digits. “You saw exactly what you think you did. You weren’t too far gone with shock, and your eyes and mind weren’t playing tricks on you.”
“But how is that even possible!” The scientific side of Rose’s brain, the part that insisted there had to be a logical explanation for what she thought she saw was at war with the rest of her mind.
“I come from a long line of paranormal beings that are able to shift into animal form. All male members of my family that share the Gannon bloodline are wolf shifters. Mitch is the alpha of the Enigma pack, and I am his enforcer, the second in command.”
Rose slipped her hand from his and rubbed her suddenly chilly arms. She gave Justin a long, hard look and realized he was serious. “How?” she whispered.
Justin slid behind Rose and wrapped his arms around her. She was too stunned to move and stayed put. “Let’s go back to the beginning of the legend,” he said. “Way back in time almost at the beginning of civilization in Mesopotamia, there was a wealthy old man who went through three wives yet was still denied a much-wanted son.”
Rose had been holding herself slightly apart from Justin, but she slowly relaxed into his body. Justin tightened his embrace and continued. “The man knew he was nearing the end of his time, and he desperately wanted an heir. So against his latest wife’s wishes, he bargained with one of the lesser gods. The god was generally thought of as evil, but the old man was desperate. The deity who sometimes took the form of a combination of canine and bird of prey was hungry for power and wanted to rise in the ranks among the gods.”
Rose’s practical side wanted to deny what he said, but the rest of her was wildly fascinated with the story. She gently rubbed her hand up and down his arm. “Go on,” she encouraged. “What happened next?”
“The god wanted at least ten blood sacrifices made in his honor. One for each month of pregnancy and then one after the child was born. The old man agreed. He made his first sacrifice the next day and another one exactly one month later. His wife began to show signs of pregnancy, and the old man continued with the sacrifices.”
a cold shiver worked its way down her spine. “Something bad happened,” Rose guessed.
Justin nodded in agreement. “The old man died with two months of pregnancy and three promised sacrifices left. The wife, who had never wanted her husband to bargain with the evil god in the first place, refused to continue the sacrifices despite dire warnings issued from her husband while on his deathbed.”
Rose sucked in a deep breath of air as a dark cloud of foreboding swept through her. It was enough to chill her to the very bone. She squeezed Justin’s hand hard.
“Two months later the widow gave birth to three small and sickly male children. The god who often took the shape of a winged canine visited her bedside and told her that she gave birth to three males that would always remind her of her folly for refusing to complete his blood sacrifices. Since he was denied his blood sacrifices, she’d given birth to one child that would need to take the blood of others to survive, or he’d die a slow and painful death as disease ravaged his body. The other two males were made in the evil god’s likeness. One had the ability to shift into a wolf at will, while the other could take the shape of the fiercest bird in that region, a falcon.” He paused giving Rose time to process the meaning of his words.
Rose’s startled gasp filled the bedroom. She turned and looked at Justin in time to catch the twisted grimace that crossed his face. She caressed his cheek with a soft and loving hand, silently encouraging him to continue. She wasn’t rejecting him, and she needed him to know that.
Justin leaned into Rose’s touch and continued. “The midwife already noticed the strange looking fur and feathers of the second and third born children. Fearing that a dark evil was at work and that the children would be a curse to every human in the vicinity she left them outside, hoping the elements would dispose of them.” He shrugged.
“Legend has it that a goddess felt sorry for the two banished babies and enlisted a family of wolves and falcons respectively to care for them. The wolf shifter thrived with the free roaming pack of wolves. Eventually, he grew into a man and felt the need to strike out on his own to find a human mate.”
Rose absorbed this information and couldn’t help but feel warmed by it. She still had lots of questions though. “What happened to the other two babies? Do you know?”
“Obviously all three of the babies survived because raptor shifters and vampires walk the Earth today along with the wolf shifters.”
“Have I met any other paranormal beings?” Her curiosity was going to get the best of her. She had to know.
“As a matter of fact, you have. “You’re the wildlife biologist tell me what Aquila means.”
Was Detective Aquila a shifter? She frowned. “It means eagle. Is he a raptor shifter?”
“Yes. He works as a go-between for paranormal beings and humans. He uses his position in law enforcement to help keep our existence a secret.”
Rose didn’t quite understand. “Why must you hide the reality of your presence from humans?”
He frowned at her. “You of all people should know the answer to that, Rose. As a scientist, I think you might have some idea of the kind of experiments humans might want to perform on my kind to find the secrets to our power, and longevity.”
Rose wanted to argue, but deep down she knew he was right. Some unethical people would do anything for fame and fortune, just look at her distant cousin. The man tried to kill her out of greed, plain and simple. “So no one can ever know about shifters or v-vampires.” She stumbled over the last word and wondered if they were anything like the mystical bloodthirsty creatures of literary and film legend.
Alarm bells started to ring in her head, and she hesitantly moved away from him. “W-why did you tell me about the l-legend?”
He shrugged. “I had to shift to fight the attacker. It was the best chance for our survival, and I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you. You came out of the snow bank before I could change back. I had no choice but to shift in front of you.”
“What now?” Rose didn’t want to be scared, but she couldn’t quiet her nerves. She gave him an anxious look.
He caught and held her gaze with an intense stare that made her shiver. “Our existence has to remain a secret. You can’t tell anyone about us. And I mean anyone, Rose. The only people entrusted with our secrets are mates and a few humans who have lived amongst us and kept our confidences for generations.”
She sucked in a deep breath and straightened her spine. “Am I in danger, because I know now?” she asked.
“Not if you keep our secret. We’re going to need your help ensuring these reported wolf sightings don’t endanger the pack. The last thing we need is truckloads of scientists trying to find wolves that might not exist.” He squeezed her hand tight. “But Rose this secret can’t be shared. I can’t protect you if you do. The council, the governing body that oversees paranormal beings, will perceive you as a threat and dispose of you and whoever you tell.”
Rose gasped but nodded her understanding. Her captured gaze broke away, and she glanced at the rumpled bed. “What about us and what we shared?”
“The attraction between us is real. I know you feel it too. I want to build on it.” He cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her face up until she looked him in the eyes. “We have something special that will only grow with time if we give it a chance. I want to give it a chance, Rose. And I hope you do too.”
“I do, Justin. I have feelings for you, strong feelings. I don’t want to say goodbye.” A lone tear fell from the corner of her eye. Things were perfect when they made love, but now it felt like her world was turned inside out.
Justin used his thumb to wipe away the sparkling drop of water as it trailed down her cheek. “This is a lot for anyone to absorb,” he acknowledged. “I know you have to leave town to take care of the mess your cousin and his death created. Detective Aquila will handle everything in Enigma.”
Justin put empty space between them. She felt the loss of his warmth immediately.
“I want you to think long and hard about what you want while you’re gone. If you want a committed relationship with me, then show up at the Valentine’s Day ball. I promise I’ll be there waiting for you with open arms.”
Rose bit her lip. “What happens if I don’t come back to Enigma?”
Justin shrugged. “That depends on what you want to happen. If you don’t want the burden of this secret, I can help with that. The most ancient vampires have very strong minds and powers. I know one that is capable of
making you forget. He can follow you to New York and erase the memory of me, and all paranormal beings. That would mean if you returned to Enigma to finish your work and passed me on the street you wouldn’t know me.”
The thought of not remembering Justin made her heart ache. She threw her arms around his neck. “I’m coming back to you, Justin! I promise.” They hadn’t known each other long, but it was enough for Rose to realize she loved him.
“I certainly hope so, because now that I’ve found you I don’t want to live without you.” He pulled her into his arms. She willingly went. The thought of not knowing when she’d see him again made her eyes water, and her chest hurt.
“Gannon Security has a private plane, and it’s scheduled to fly you to New York in about two hours. We need to get you packed and out of here so you can take care of pressing business.”
Rose fought back the tears that threatened to fall. Her heart was heavy, and she didn’t want to go, but she didn’t have a choice. She brushed her lips across his and left to gather up her belongings. She stopped at the door and gave him one last long and lingering look trying to memorize his features. The separation was necessary, but it didn’t change the fact that both of them were going to suffer because of it.
EIGHT
The directions to the Valentine’s Day ball she received from Scarlet slipped out of Rose’s fingers. The crisp white sheet of paper fluttered onto the floorboard of the luxury crossover. Rose didn’t bother to look down. She was mesmerized by the sight in front of her. No one bothered to tell her that the ball was in a castle.
With everything else she learned the last several days, she shouldn’t be surprised. She slowed to a crawl to take in the sight. Thousands of tiny white lights sparkled, making the castle look like a twinkling fairyland. Rose giggled. Maybe it was. Justin hadn’t mentioned fairies, but if animal shifters and vampires could exist then why not fairies?