Finally the irani appeared to lose interest. They shot back over the cliff toward the fortress, and disappeared from sight.
We can travel more quickly if you remain in nordai form, Jalen said as he began heading north, making his way below the cliff while remaining in the shadows. Unless you would rather not?
I think I shall enjoy it, Ranelle responded and took flight.
Ranelle sped ahead as Jalen jogged along the shore behind her. He could run for hours without tiring, but knew that she would not have such an easy time of it. He was pleased she had chosen to stay in nordai form as they would make faster progress.
Yet a part of him felt lost without her by his side. As though he was lonely.
Absurd. Elves were never lonely as they were one with nature and thus never alone.
Jalen dismissed the thought and pressed forward. Cool wind slid over his skin, but he felt no chill. Like all Elves, his blood heated him from within, keeping his body at an even temperature no matter what the weather conditions might be.
He wondered if Toen would be waiting ahead. When Jalen had recovered Ranelle, the Overseer had made himself scarce, allowing Jalen time alone with his heartmate. It was possible that Toen had left to assist another. The Overseer only stayed where he was needed, for as long as he believed himself to be of use.
On and on Ranelle flew and Jalen ran. Often she would circle back and he would speak with her in thought. Then she would dart ahead, as though relishing her newfound freedom. When they were finally reunited with Ranelle, Aric and Renn would be enchanted with their younger sister, almost as much as Jalen was. Ranelle’s brothers might not be pleased that Jalen had claimed her, but he would deal with that when the time came.
While they traveled, he enjoyed the memories of making love to Ranelle, tasting her, pleasuring her and bringing her to climax. His cock ached to be buried within her sweet folds, and the desire spurred him on.
The moon moved slowly across the sky, and Jalen kept his pace. Ranelle, however, tired before the stars reached apex. Jalen encouraged her to rest upon his shoulder, and she did so while he continued to sprint along the shore of the Mairi Sea toward Wilding Wood.
Not his first choice, for certain, but his best option, given the circumstances.
Jalen knew he was taking a big risk, but he intended to skirt the fringes of the forest, hoping the Queen of Faerie, Anistana, would allow them safe passage. The Faeries of the wood were a mischievous lot, and one never knew what Anistana’s whim might be for the day. Still, Anistana was preferable to Zanden’s minions.
Most of the time.
Sometime before dawn they reached a sheltered cove below the Wilding Wood, and Jalen came to a halt. We shall rest here before we enter the forest, he told Ranelle, who was still in nordai form and perched upon his shoulder.
She fluttered her feathers. Her sharp raven’s eyes surveyed him, perhaps sensing his trepidation about the Faeries.
Reining his emotions, Jalen tenderly removed Ranelle from his shoulder, set her on the sand and stood back. The air glittered around her as she transformed back into her lovely woman’s body, a tired smile upon her face.
Jalen brought her into his arms and held her tight, enjoying the feel of her body pressed to his. “Although you were the fairest of ravens, I missed seeing your beautiful smile, mi enchantrei.”
“Flying was wonderful—far better than I had even imagined.” Ranelle gave a small yawn against his chest. “But I fear I shall be too sore to move come the morrow.”
He smiled as he released Ranelle and reached into his waist pouch for the krstn. “After we sup, I will tend to your tired muscles. I promise you shall feel much better.”
Jalen unfurled the blanket on the sand, within the shelter of a small overhang that protected them from the wind. The moon sat low in the sky but was bright. It would not be many more days ’til moonchange.
Sitting cross-legged on the krstn, Ranelle ate the gorni that he had given her. She devoured the bar, finishing hers almost as soon as Jalen had eaten his.
After she finished her gorni, she gave him a thoughtful look. “Will I need that potion to change into a raven again?”
He shook his head. “Nay. The knowledge has now been released within you, and it will be easier the next time. When you desire to become a nordai, you simply need to will yourself to make the transformation.”
Ranelle brushed her hair out of her eyes. “This is all so strange. Yet it felt so right.”
Jalen reached into his waist pouch and removed a vial of lonoi oil. “Now ’tis time to remove your clothing,” he instructed as he set the vial on the krstn.
Even in the moonlight he saw the blush rise to her cheeks. “It is a bit chilly out here,” she murmured.
“I shall warm you.” He smiled and tugged at the tie around her tunic. “I promise you shall enjoy the lonoi.”
After she had removed her clothing, Ranelle settled on the krstn, face down. A false gray dawn lightened the morning sky as she stared across the sand to the waterline. The sea continued its endless thrust against the shore, pulling back and pushing forward again, like two lovers forever mating.
Goose bumps sprouted along her bare skin as a cool wind swirled within their cove. The moist air smelled of the sea’s brine, along with the perfume of juniper and hynling trees from the nearby forest.
She blinked. Hynling trees? Where had that name come from, and how did she know what they smelled like? And why did the name disturb her senses?
A shiver skittered along her spine as Jalen straddled her, also naked, his enormous cock pressed against her rounded buttocks. All thought fled her mind, leaving only visions of her Elvin stallion making love to her, and she barely had enough concentration to keep her thoughts blocked from him.
She grew wet at the memories of Jalen fucking her, and she nearly groaned aloud. The first time she had seen his cock, she couldn’t believe how huge it was, nearly twice the size of Stefan’s—and she had thought Stefan’s to be large.
Jalen reached for the vial he had set beside her on the krstn. She heard the soft pop of the cork, and then shivered again as she felt warm oil being poured onto her spine. Scents of mint and cedar met her nose, serving to further relax her. He set the corked vial back onto the blanket, and then began massaging her back.
“Mmmmm,” she moaned as his large hands worked her muscles. “By all the gods that feels wonderful.”
Your skin is softer than Faerie silk, he murmured in her mind. Queen Anistana herself would be envious.
Closing her eyes, she turned her head to the side and sighed with pleasure from the incredible massage. “How do you always know the very moment when I’m not guarding my thoughts?”
You are my heartmate. His fingers worked the muscles in her shoulders. I shall always be aware of your openness to me. And one day you will not feel the need to block my entrance to your mind.
Her entire being was so relaxed that it took her a moment to process what he had said. She tensed and her eyes popped open. “Heartmate? What are you talking about?”
“Shhh, mi enchantrei.” He deepened the massage and she couldn’t help but melt into the feel of his fingers.
Yet a part of her recalled Jalen’s possessiveness during their lovemaking, and his demands that she belonged to him for eternity. Had he been serious? Did he think he owned her? Or had it been play, like Stefan and Vay?
Jalen took that moment to ease down her body and press her thighs apart. He knelt between her splayed legs and rubbed her buttocks, moving lower and lower ‘til his hands neared her woman’s curls. All she could think about at that point was how much she wanted him to thrust his huge cock deep inside her.
Moisture flooded her channel and she arched her hips, begging for his touch. The Elvin devil ignored her needy moans and continued his massage. “Patience, my love,” he murmured as he slowly worked the muscles of one leg, down to her calf and ankle.
To Hades with patience! Ranelle’s entire body felt a
live and on fire. All tiredness and aches had vanished, replaced with energy and vitality. Her passion was at such an extreme level that she thought she would reach orgasm without him even touching her between her thighs.
“The lonoi will vanquish any aches.” Jalen moved to her other leg and began administering his magical hands to its muscles. “And it will keep your body warm for hours yet to come.”
“I want your cock inside me, Jalen.” Ranelle moaned as his hands returned to her buttocks. “Take me now.”
The maddening man gave a low laugh as he eased his hands up her backside. “You are a lusty one, my Elvin Princess.”
Elvin Princess? She opened her mouth to ask why he called her that, but moaned instead when she felt his hot tongue on her buttocks and the gentle nip of his teeth. His long hair brushed her backside as he swirled his tongue along each cheek, and she grew even wetter for him.
“Get on your knees,” he murmured as he moved back.
Finally. She rose up on all fours. But instead of feeling the penetration of his cock, the next thing she knew his head was beneath her, between her thighs. His tongue flicked at her clit, and she almost collapsed on his face from the sheer pleasure of his stroke.
Jalen’s finger thrust in and out of her wet entrance while his tongue licked her, and one of his hands gripped her hips. She ground her sex into his face while she watched the waves pound the shore. Breasts swaying in the cool morning air, her nipples hard and aching, Ranelle rocked to and fro, fucking his face and seeking release from the sweet torture.
“Yes!” she cried. “Right there. Gods, yes!”
The enrli at her forehead and mound throbbed, sending burning pleasure throughout her body. The beginnings of her orgasm trickled through her, growing and growing ’til it burst throughout her in a flood of sensation.
Ranelle cried out, her shout echoing against the rock in the overhang. Even as her limbs refused to bear her weight any longer, Jalen was out from beneath her, his hands gripping her hips. In a smooth movement he had her on her back, his muscled body between her thighs, his cock pressed to her belly.
His jaw was clenched, his eyes glittering sapphires, as he stared down at her. Muscles in his arms bulged as he propped himself above her, as though he fought wild urges rising within him.
Jalen’s lips came down hard upon Ranelle’s, his tongue plunging inside her mouth, filling her with the taste of herself and his masculine flavor. A heated groan rumbled through him and he clenched his fists in her hair, holding her hard against the krstn.
His intensity frightened her, yet excited her all at the same time. For a man who always seemed in control, this explosion of carnal passion was incredibly erotic and arousing.
Ranelle dug the nails of one hand into his thigh, needing to hang on for dear life as he ravaged her mouth. She reached between their bodies, grabbed his cock and brought it to her folds.
Jalen tore his mouth from hers, his eyes wild with lust.
“Take me, Jalen. Please,” she begged.
He hooked his arms under her knees, raising her hips off the blanket and opening her wide to him. With one long thrust, he immersed his cock inside her waiting core, causing Ranelle to cry out from the mixture of pain and pleasure.
She couldn’t take her eyes off his face as he pounded into her. Sweat glistened upon his forehead, his pulsating enrli sparkling in dawn’s growing light.
This time Ranelle’s orgasm took her by surprise, crashing into her like the tide. But still Jalen thrust in and out of her, drawing out her climax ’til it built to another and another.
With her third scream of pleasure, she raked her nails across his back. Jalen shouted and she felt his body tense and his cock pulsate inside her as he released his seed inside her. His release was hard and powerful, and she could feel his hot semen flooding her womb.
Jalen slowed his thrusts, emptying himself into her. Yet he didn’t stop. He continued moving in and out, building up speed again. Sweat rolled down his face and covered his body. His relentless plunging caused her to climax a fifth and sixth time.
As she reached yet another peak, Jalen pressed the enrli on his forehead to hers. Silvery blue light blinded her as her orgasm flooded her entire being. Distantly she heard his yell from his own release, and felt his thrusts slow ’til he collapsed atop her.
Exhaustion claimed Ranelle, overcoming her so swiftly that in the next instant she slid into the deepest of sleeps.
Chapter Eight
Shock coursed Jalen’s being as he rolled off Ranelle and onto the krstn. His breathing came ragged and fast, his cock as hard as mishnui wood, his desire barely sated. If she had not fallen asleep, he surely would have taken her again and again.
Jalen’s muscles trembled as he drew Ranelle within his embrace and stared into the morning sky. The sea shimmered with golden light, the horizon streaked with the oranges, purples and pinks of dawn.
Ranelle’s breathing had already deepened in her exhausted slumber, her lashes dark crescents against her pale skin. Her sweet essence and the smells of sex and sweat clung to their skin, overwhelming his senses and causing another bolt of lust to surge through his cock.
By all the goddess’s gifts, what was happening to him? Never had he lost control. Never had he felt the urge to rut like a wild stag at mating time.
A faint tinkling echoed in the overhang. His sensitive ears caught something on the wind—a sound as fair as chimes stirred by a breeze…like laughter. A soft feminine sound, a mischievous giggle.
Nay. It could not be. They were yet a hundred yards from Wilding Wood. Surely the Faeries would not stray so far from Astral?
Jalen reached over Ranelle’s sleeping form, ran his hand over the krstn, and then looked at his fingertips. Gold dust sparkled on each of his fingers and he couldn’t keep a slight groan from escaping his throat.
Anistana.
It had been too much to hope they would have safe passage through her wood. Now he had to determine some way to appease her while getting Ranelle safely to Seraphine. His last encounter with the wily Faerie Queen had not gone particularly well, and he was certain she had not forgotten. And without doubt she would seek revenge in her own devious way.
He fought the raging lust in his body caused by Faerie magic, tempering it with all his will. No longer in the throws of sexual passion, Jalen was able to calm his body and fight the effects of Anistana’s enchanted dust. He had seen it used only once before, and that had been a time long ago. His brother-at-arms still carried the scar of that rendezvous with Anistana.
With a heavy sigh, Jalen brought Ranelle tighter into his embrace. She stirred and murmured, “Tierra,” her brow furrowed and her voice thick with sleep.
He reached into her thoughts. Through the guard she had dropped in her slumber he saw that she dreamed of her redheaded heart-sister—who was entirely naked.
Jalen had seen Tierra many times in Fiorn when he had shadowed Ranelle, but this time there was something oddly familiar about her. As though she reminded him of someone else.
Nay, ’tis impossible.
Frowning, Jalen withdrew, turning his attention toward the surging tide and the sound of seagulls seeking their morning meal. He would allow Ranelle to sleep only a bit longer, and then it would be necessary to wake her and prepare for their journey to Seraphine…
And face what might come with the Queen of Faerie.
* * * * *
Tierra bolted through the wood, her heart pounding, blood rushing in her ears, and her lungs burning. She dodged through thick pine, oak and bluewood trees, and hurtled over fallen logs. Branches scratched her face, poked her naked breasts and jabbed at her bare thighs, but she ignored the discomfort.
Behind her the crashing came closer and closer as the warrior drew near.
He was surely furious at what she’d done.
She had to escape him!
He would not harm her, despite his dark and arrogant nature. Of that Tierra felt certain. Mostly. And she could stil
l feel the fire of his touch upon her skin.
Gods, but he was an incredible lover. And an incredibly stupid brute.
A madman.
Low branches snagged her ankle, and she stumbled, barely catching herself before she fell. A surge of renewed energy rushed through her body, giving her the strength to go on.
If she could find a place to hide, she could escape the barbarian and whatever punishment he would exact.
She scrambled between a pair of granite boulders and found herself in an enormous clearing filled with an odd blue mist.
Damn. No place to hide!
Hair on the back of her neck prickled and she knew the warrior was near. She sprinted toward thick bushes to her left. The second she moved she was certain she had felt fingers scrape her bare back.
His fingers. Rigid and cold with anger.
Terror and excitement added strength to Tierra’s flight. She dove into the strange mist, toward a gap between the bushes, and began scrambling through on her hands and knees.
What if he caught her here? Took her now, like some wild pack dog, howling before moonchange.
The thought infuriated and thrilled her.
Hands grabbed her hips and yanked her back against a solid male form—as naked as she was.
“No!” Ranelle screamed and fought against her bonds. “Let me go,” she cried as she thrashed and tried to escape.
“Ranelle!” A familiar voice pierced her consciousness. “It was a dream, mi enchantrei. Only a dream.”
Jalen.
She stilled and focused on the face over hers. Jalen, her Elvin god, held her close, cradling her, his naked skin pressed to hers. She could sense him drawing away the fear of her dream, but her skin still prickled as though warning her.
Blinking away the light, she realized it was now early morning, the sun warming the small cove they were nestled in.
“You are safe,” Jalen murmured and brushed his lips across the enrli at her forehead.
The dream came back to Ranelle as vivid as one of her visions. “Tierra. I must find her. She is in unspeakable danger.”
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