It didn’t take her long to catch up to him, and after nearly colliding with a tree, Adam flew to the ground and bowed his head to her. She landed next to him, returned his gesture of respect, then they both shifted back to their human forms, out of breath and laughing. Michael joined them a few minutes later, but when he shifted, he wasn’t laughing.
“Don’t worry, she got me too,” Adam said. “I had to give up after I almost collided with a very large tree.”
The scowl on Michael’s face dissolved and he burst into laughter. “How did you know I was there?” he finally asked.
“I could hear you breathing,” Charlie said, grinning at him. “I have exceptional hearing, even for a shifter.”
Adam raised his eyebrow. “That could come in handy,” he said. “Let’s go up to the cabin. You passed your first test, Charlie.”
“With flying colors,” Michael added wryly. “I’m going to be sore from that fall tomorrow.”
“Sorry, Michael,” she said, but she was ginning.
“Yeah, you look really sorry,” he said, but he was grinning too.
Soon, they were all standing on the porch of the cabin, catching their breath and absorbing the beauty around them. Charlie looked out at the moon-lit lake, and wondered what it would look like in the summer, but then something caught her eye.
“What’s that?” she asked, pointing to a spot on the ground where the snow had melted in two overlapping circles.
“That’s where Amy sent the demons when they attacked her,” Michael said proudly.
“Come here. I want to show you something,” he said, walking down the stairs and toward the black spot.
When he got there, he picked up a rock and threw it into the center of one of the circles; it sank slowly, then was gone. “I’m not sure exactly what we’ve got here, but it’s very unstable.”
Charlie backed up a few steps. “I can see that,” she said, shivering from the cold air coming from the ground. “It’s cold.”
Michael nodded. “Hopefully, the witch we find for the festival can help us with this too, or we’re going to have to fence it off or something.”
“Speaking of demons,” Adam said, starting back toward the cabin. “How much has Vincent told you?”
“Not much,” she said. “But I keep having this feeling that there’s something to tell.”
Adam nodded. “Our demons are kind of special,” he said. “Let’s go inside where it warmer and I’ll tell you about them. Vincent should have told you sooner, but he’s being a stubborn ass, so I’ll do it for him.”
Charlie couldn’t help but smile. Adam had described Vincent perfectly. “You said it, not me,” she said.
Chapter Eleven
***Vincent***
Vincent’s wings cut through the air; his midnight blue feathers glistened darkly in the moonlight as he soared over the treetops on the way to the cabin. Instinct drove him on, his thoughts jumbled, his emotions running wild, and he wanted to hurt someone right then. Sebastian would have been his first choice, but Adam and Michael weren’t far behind, even though he knew deep down they’d done nothing wrong.
He couldn’t identify why he was so upset that they’d taken Charlie to the cabin, couldn’t separate rational thought from the instincts driving him. Jealousy seemed to be the prevailing emotion, followed closely by anger, with a strange sense of disappointment rounding things out. But anger took center stage when he flew into the meadow and saw the three dragons swooping around each other, playing a game of tag that the smallest one seemed to be winning.
The anger was quickly replaced by throbbing desire deep in his gut when he realized that it was Charlie evading his friends so effortlessly, until Adam caught her, and she tumbled to the ground. She lay there panting, her wings spread out on the ground, and for a moment, he thought that she was hurt, but then she jumped to her feet, stretched out her wings, and bowed her head.
Adam and Michael joined her on the ground, bowed to Charlie, then the three flew back to the cabin. He waited until they’d all shifted before flying out of the trees and landing on the porch, the anger surging back when he saw a big black bruise on Charlie’s arm. Fighting the urge to pull her against him, he stared at her, his thoughts jumbled again, his emotions out of control.
“I thought we all agreed we weren’t going to let her hunt,” Vincent finally said, looking over at Adam.
“You agreed, we didn’t,” Adam said. “She came to us, Vincent, not because she wanted to hunt but because she needed to know where it was safe to shift.”
“She should have come to me,” he said, glaring at Michael and Adam.
Charlie made a choking sound, then stepped in front of him. “Excuse me, I would appreciate it if you didn’t talk about me like I’m not here,” she said, then paused until he looked down at her. “What I do and who I do it with are none of your concern. I’m here to help you, but you don’t own me. I had a free night and needed to shift; it’s as simple as that. Maybe if you hadn’t ignored me all day, I might have asked you.”
Vincent stared down at her, a mixture of anger and desire racing through his veins. “You could have come to me; you knew where to find me,” he said through clenched teeth. “That would have been the logical thing to do, but maybe you don’t think logically.”
Charlie’s nostrils flared and her eyes flashed. “Well, if you want to talk about logic, let me ask you this: did it ever occur to you that I wasn’t ready to face you after you kissed me last night?”
“What?” Adam and Michael asked in unison.
He glared at them over Charlie’s head, and they backed up a few steps. “Maybe we should go,” Michael said.
“Good idea,” Adam said. “We’ll leave you two alone to sort this out, but, Vincent, just so you know, Charlie’s got some moves.”
“But I guess you have some moves of your own,” Michael said, then burst out laughing.
Charlie gave him a dirty look, and he put his hands up. “Okay, we’re going,” he said.
When they were gone, Vincent ran his fingers through his hair, wondering how things had gotten so out of control, then turned and walked a few steps away from Charlie. She smelled wonderful to him, slightly sweaty but sweet at the same time, and he needed to get away from her before he did something he’d regret later. He knew he needed to say something about the kiss, but didn’t know what to say; he wasn’t going to apologize, and he couldn’t explain that it was an irresistible instinct that had made him do it.
So, he settled for, “I shouldn’t have kissed you last night.”
She looked disappointed for a second but recovered quickly. “Then we’re in agreement; it was a bad idea,” she said.
“Just like this was,” he said, trying to find some solid ground.
Charlie sighed. “You don’t let things go easily, do you?” she asked. “I’ll tell you what: if you can catch me, I promise I won’t come up here again without telling you.”
Before he could stop her, she ran down the porch steps and with no effort at all, shifted into the sleek petite dragon that had mesmerized him earlier. She was in the air before he could react, her wings beating silently as she rose, then in a flash of iridescent green feathers, she was gone. He watched her disappear into the trees, fighting the urge to follow her, but the thrill of the chase and a wave of desire finally overwhelmed him, and he shifted.
***Charlie***
Charlie knew that she was pushing it, but she was tired of being treated like a child. If Vincent wasn’t going to listen to reason, then she’d have to show him that she was more than capable of killing demons. She’d made the bet more than confident that he’d never catch her, but just to be safe, she gave herself as much of a head start as possible.
She darted through the trees, looking for the perfect one, then perched on its highest branch and waited, ignoring the desire stirring to life when Vincent flew into view. He went right past her, so she eased herself off the branch, her wings flapping silently in the ai
r, then dove for him, letting a cry of warning just before she knocked him to the ground.
He jumped to his feet and looked up at where she was hovering above him, shook his head, and glared at her, his eyes flashing in the darkness. She flapped her wings at him a few times, then turned and flew off, the sound of his protests filling the silent night. This time when he caught up to her, she didn’t hide. Instead, she darted around him, then flew back towards the cabin.
As she darted around the trees, weaving her way back to the cabin, she looked behind her, but Vincent was gone. Sure, that he’d gone above the trees, she stopped and looked around, but what she saw wasn’t a dragon waiting to ambush her. Instead, only twenty feet away on the leaf-littered ground, the air was shimmering, and the sound of a demon shuffling through them reached her ears.
Frozen for a second, she stared at the spot where she knew the creature was slowly making its way through the forest. Faced for the first time with a demon, she began to panic but forced herself to take a deep breath, and the panic receded. Calm again, she flew up to a high branch and quietly settled down to watch the creature, or what she could see of it, but that wasn’t the only reason she didn’t attack.
Focusing all her senses on the demon, Vincent forgotten, she tried to read it, an ancient technique her father had taught her, but she’d never had the opportunity to use. For a moment, nothing happened, but then she was suddenly filled with a deep hunger, but it wasn’t a hunger for food: it was a different feeling, an evil feeling that made her tremble. She was just pulling herself away from the demon’s evil influence when something crashed into her, knocking her out of the tree.
She landed on top of the demon, who let out a howl of pain and suddenly became visible, thrashing under her, its claws slicing the air just inches from her face. In that second, instinct took over, and she rose in the air, then dove at the demon, talons stretched wide to rip at its flesh, her jaws snapping. The demon rose up from the ground, the stench of rotten eggs filling her lungs, and struck out at her, but she hit it with her full force, tumbling it to the ground.
The rest was over in moments as instinct took over and she used her talons and sharp beak to rip into the demon until all that was left was a smelly black putrid heap of flesh. Smoke hung heavy in the air, as she stood looking at what was left of the demon, then she felt Vincent land next to her. He nudged her with his head, and together they flew back to the cabin, landed on the porch, then shifted back to their human forms.
Before she could even take a breath, Vincent grabbed her and shook her. “Now do you see why I didn’t want you up here?” he demanded; his eyes hard but full of fear. “That thing almost killed you.”
“It wouldn’t have if something hadn’t knocked me out of that tree,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him. “That was you, wasn’t it?”
“I was catching you,” he spat back at her, then turned away. “I can’t do this, Charlie. I can’t watch you fight demons.”
“You have to, Vincent. This is what I was trained to do. I know you don’t think women should be demon hunters, but didn’t I just show you that I’m just as capable as you are?” she asked.
He turned and looked at her, his face full of anguish. “You don’t get it, Charlie,” he said. “Just now, when I was watching you, I realized that it’s just you. I don’t want you fighting demons; it makes me crazy in a way that makes no sense, but nothing between us makes any sense.”
“Is this the part where you kiss me again, so things make even less sense?” she asked. When he didn’t answer, she turned and walked over to the door. “It really doesn’t matter anyway because I’m not getting involved with you, Vincent; that’s not what I came here for.”
Legs shaking, she went inside the cabin, shut the door, and went to the kitchen. She had no real purpose in mind, just needed to get away from Vincent and all the emotions he was stirring up once again. Reminding herself he wasn’t what she needed, wasn’t what she wanted, she stood bent over the sink fighting tears, and hating herself for caring.
She heard him come in the door but didn’t move, didn’t dare, afraid that she’d lose the fragile control she had over her emotions. When she felt his arms slide around her, she leaned back against him, feeling his body heat soaking into her, but held her breath, unwilling to let the tears come, wishing she could make herself pull away.
“I’m sorry, Charlie,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ve been acting like a total jerk, but you make me crazy.”
She turned in his arms and pushed against his chest. “So, it’s all my fault?” she demanded, her tears disappearing with the heat of her anger.
“Yes, because every time I’m around you, all I want to do is kiss you,” he said, pulling her more firmly in his arms. “You drive me crazy, Charlie. I want to kiss every inch of your body, memorize every freckle, every dimple. I want to feel your body trembling under mine. I want to hear you sighing my name with pleasure, and then I want to bury myself deep inside you.”
Chapter Twelve
***Vincent***
Vincent couldn’t stop the words that were pouring out of his mouth. He’d thought about having Charlie right where she was for so long, he couldn’t let her go. When she gasped and her eyes got big, then filled with desire, he knew that he’d won, but didn’t stop to think what that meant. Instead, he swept her into his arms and carried her back to the bedroom.
When he set her on her feet, he brought his mouth down on hers, then slid his tongue in, tasting her sweetness. Charlie sighed into his mouth, then wound her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his, her hard nipples rubbing against his chest making his groin tighten pleasantly.
This soon turned to a throbbing need when Charlie stripped off his shirt and ran her hands over his chest, then down to the waistband of his pants. Growling deep in his throat, desperate to get his hands on her, he ripped her shirt off, quickly removed the scrap of lace that covered her plump breasts and cupped them in his hands.
Charlie sucked in a deep shuddering breath, and her nipples became stiff peaks under his fingers as he teased them. Kissing his way down her neck, his hands still massaging her swollen breasts, he flicked his tongue over one hard peak and then the other, making her gasp and dig her nails into his shoulders.
She was trembling in his arms, her breath coming in short gasps that filled him with a new kind of pleasure, and he knew that there was no turning back, that he’d crossed a line. But he didn’t care; he wanted her in a way he’d never wanted a woman, wanted her both physically and emotionally.
Feeling the knowledge sink into him, he traced his way back up her chest, nuzzled her neck, then found her mouth again. When he’d kissed her breathless, he pulled back and looked down at her, his mind spinning with all he wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come. Charlie studied him for a second, then reached for the button on his pants, slid it free, then lowered his zipper, making him grit his teeth, the thrill of anticipation filling him as she slid his pants to the floor.
When her hands closed around him, it felt better than he’d ever imagined it would. Her hands were warm and soft, the look in her eyes almost predatory as she stared up at him, then sank to her knees. His heart was pounding in his chest; the throbbing between his legs had become almost painful, and he nearly pulled her back to her feet. But then she grinned up at him, opened her mouth, and slowly took him in all the way to the back of her throat.
Pleasure exploded deep inside him, and he grabbed fistfuls of her hair to steady himself as she used her mouth to send him soaring higher and higher. He was dangerously close to the edge before he finally pulled her to her feet with a throaty growl and slammed his mouth down on hers. But it wasn’t enough to satisfy the pounding need deep inside him; he needed her trembling beneath him, crying out his name as he filled her.
He shoved her roughly onto the bed, making her cry out with surprise, then ripped her pants off without even unbuttoning them and stood over her, drinking in the sight of her lusciou
s body. When his eyes met hers, his body began to throb even harder, and his first thought was of driving himself deep inside her, but instead, he grabbed her legs, spread them wide, then crawled between them.
Dipping his head between her legs, he parted her folds with his finger, and Charlie stiffened on the bed, her breath coming in short gasps of anticipation that fueled his desire even further. Determined to have her trembling with pleasure and crying out his name, he slid his tongue over her, slipped a finger deep inside her, then drove her over the edge.
She cried out his name over and over as she tumbled into ecstasy, her muscles gripping him deep inside, almost driving him over the edge. When she stopped trembling, he slid between her legs and hovered there, the tip of his throbbing manhood poised to enter her. Charlie opened pleasure-filled eyes and looked up at him, then wrapped her legs around him and raised her hips, all the invitation his overheated body needed.
He drove himself into her harder than he meant to, but she took him in, her body closing around him, and the pleasure of the feeling was nearly his undoing. Deep inside, he felt the first stirring of the bond between them coming to life and let the feeling wash over him, both thrilling and comforting at the same time. But the demands of his body couldn’t be ignored, and he drove himself into her again, making her cry out his name.
With each thrust of his hips, he brought them both closer to the ultimate satisfaction, but he held back, waiting until the moment he felt Charlie begin to tremble. When she finally tumbled over the edge, her muscles tightening around him, he let himself go and was swept away into a storm of pleasure unlike anything he’d ever felt before. The world around him melted away, leaving only the two of them, and the deep certainty that Charlie was all he’d ever need.
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