by Gem Sivad
So here she was, experiencing the heat of the sand and the smell of the sea—and feeling disappointed. All her life she’d seen pictures of “the beach” and she’d just sort of expected more. Compared to the lush trees and lawns at home, this place appeared to be a desolate wasteland. Even the wind sounded forlorn.
Thomas led her over rough patches of ground that shifted beneath her feet to a set of steps stuck out in the open, leading to nowhere.
“Come on, grumpy. You’re going to love what’s on the other side of this dune. I promise.”
I don’t love this side. Why would more grit over there make it all better? This was her first vacation ever, her first trip to the beach, her first look at the ocean and her first attempt at living with Thomas. She was going to enjoy herself even if it killed her.
She stopped to shake sand from her sandals. Bending to replace one, she brushed against a patch of grass. Midges swarmed around her feet, biting her ankles.
“Sh…crap!” Exasperated, Miz clamped her lips shut, holding back a string of curse words. She was trying to be better, not so potty-mouth. Thomas thought it was funny that she wanted to clean up her vocabulary, but if he ever introduced her to his family, she didn’t want to be saying shit and damn every ten seconds.
And fucking—that’s a bad one too. She loved the word fuck in all of its many forms. I’m just going to have to learn to speak without it.
Ahead of her, Thomas paused on the steps and pulled his shirt over his head. Before he resumed his climb, he turned and winked at her. “It’s not if you meet my family but when. Your vocabulary is fine and I’m partial to fucking, too.”
He dealt with all of her angst in two seconds with the arrogant disdain of a cat, which he was. The muscles in his back rippled and as she watched, a different kind of heat surged through her body.
While she’d plodded along, ruminating on cuss words, the sun had set. It didn’t matter, the temperature was still in the nineties and sweat trickled between her boobs, wetting the material of her new swimsuit. Despairingly, she gazed at the barren landscape. Not a fuc…frigging shade tree in sight.
Miz tilted her head, inhaling the foreign scents, not quite pleasant and definitely not like anything she’d ever smelled before. She increased her speed when Thomas reached the top and disappeared on the other side. Wait for me.
A taunting laugh was her answer. Scrambling upward, she reached the platform and stood gasping at the picture in front of her. The moon hovered above the sea’s surface, its reflection casting a mellow glow on the water. Though it had been dark behind the dunes, moonlight illuminated the beach in front of her.
Unclaimed magic pulsed in the air. The ocean became a giant scrying bowl and the vastness of the universe stretched before her. On the surface of the water, she saw herself and Thomas naked and writhing in passion. She didn’t have to be a witch to know they were going to make love as soon as she found him. But seeing the act of their desire painted on the water was definitely weird.
Mesmerized, her gaze was drawn upward to the perfect silver circle Thomas called a blue moon. It seemed close enough for Miz to touch. From nowhere, an incantation drifted into her mind:
Moon glow / Torch of Night / Protect this moment / Hide from sight… She flicked her fingers and set a spell of concealment over the cove before she climbed down from the platform.
On this side, there was nothing but sand and surging waves. Ocean noises pulled at her and the wind urged her toward the white foam lapping at the edge of the beach.
Miz looked around cautiously. Thomas had left his clothes lying on the blanket for her to find. The ward she’d set encased them in protection. She was ready to play. A grin tugged at her lips. She could feel him. He was somewhere nearby, no doubt stalking her as she blundered through the sand dunes.
Maybe he’s swimming. She considered the possibility of joining him, but the vast expanse of water wasn’t like anything she’d ever encountered in Bitter Creek Holler. Huh-uh. Not going there. I saw Jaws.
The combination of wind, salty air and the drop in temperature on this side of the dunes, made her heady. In spite of the heat, Miz shivered. The ocean was intimidating and made her feel lonely.
I can’t visit the sea and not swim. She stared at it. Yes I can. She compromised, walking close enough to the waves to get her feet wet. And then a streak of gold appeared from nowhere, knocking her on her butt before charging away and leaving her sitting waist deep in the surf.
Gotcha, Thomas pronounced smugly in her mind.
She splashed water on him, but before she could grab hold and dunk the big cat, he leapt away. Crouched on dry land he toyed with her, darting at her when she took a step, ready to pounce as soon as she left the water. Hmmm…
A ripple of excitement shivered through Miz. Thomas’s cat, Sunny, was in rare form. He prowled the beach in front of her, muscles rippling in a show of masculine pride. His tail swished aggressively, sending sparks of energy into the air.
“Nice kitty,” she said, placating the three hundred pound jaguar. She knew in her head it was Thomas but that didn’t keep her heart from racing just the same. She wasn’t that keen on sharing time with the…
Sunny knocked her down again, this time rolling her over in the surf until she came up sputtering. She zapped him with a hold-em spell long enough to get away and start running.
The big cat sat glaring balefully at her, trying to break the threads that held him glued to the shallows as waves lapped around him. Miz grinned, pausing long enough in her flight to direct a huge swell of water toward shore and over Thomas’s head.
He shuddered and she felt the ping of each magical binding release as he muscled his way out of her charm. The last thing she saw before she dived behind a hill of sand was the wet cat emerging from the surf. Sea spice and enchantment brushed across her skin as they played, chasing each other through the dunes in a game of hide-seek-tag-run.
“Come out-come out, where ever you are, Sunny.” Miz stood spotlighted by the moon overhead, looking in the shadows for the big cat as she turned slowly. She didn’t know where he’d been hiding, but she could feel his eyes on her as she completed the circle and faced the blanket. Having shifted from his jaguar form, Thomas lolled on the blanket waiting for her like the Sultan of Paradise.
Not for the first time, Miz felt as if she’d been controlling an inner beast all of her life and now here was Thomas patiently encouraging her to let it free. The ocean, the moon, the night and her mate called to the wildness inside of her.
Why did I ever think I didn’t like this place? She freed her breasts enjoying the caress of the wind. As she stalked toward the blanket, she untied the strings on her bikini bottom. When that scrap of cloth hit the ground, Thomas flashed amber beast eyes at her and she heard his rumbling purr over the sound of the surf.
She planted a foot on either side, standing naked above him, straddling him on the blanket. He held up his hands and she took them, letting him pull her down until her thighs were on either side of his hips. She’d barely brushed across his rigid member when the sound of a helicopter intruded on their privacy.
That fast, Thomas shoved her clothes at her, and growled, “Get dressed.”
Miz was still fumbling with the clasp on her top when the first man dressed in black, used the rope ladder dangling from the Army ‘copter, and dropped to the sand.
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Synopsis
Masseuse, hedgewitch, healer… Although Missouri Hess can take pain and illness away with her touch, and pull truth from a liar every time, she considers her strange talents a curse. Being a healer is a lonely existence when the people you help, shun your truth-telling side. Nevertheless when misery calls, Miz is compelled to answer.
Thomas Hunter is a government agent and a member of an elite Special Forces team—emphasizing the word special. In human form, Thomas is a mou
th-watering hunk of rippling muscles. Since he’s in Bitter Creek Holler to meet the local werewolves, he’s spending most of his time prowling the woods as a jaguar, ready to greet shifters in parlay or meet the enemy with fang and claw.
But Thomas doesn’t know the area, or realize until too late, that he’s become prey. When Miz rescues his furry form from a conibear trap, the beast in him claims her as his own. It’s up to Thomas to work out the details and convince the bewitching healer she’s his mate.
Excerpt
As Miz rounded the curve in the narrow road leading to the store, the full moon made her Harley’s headlight redundant. Beneath her, the bike’s quiet thrum lent a comforting base to the otherwise still night, and almost content, Miz inhaled, savoring the pungent scent of honeysuckle and West Virginia pine.
Dammit—no… regardless of her bitter response, her hands had begun to pulse and she was already tuned to the silent cry of misery calling her. When the gift that cursed her, reared its ugly head, her personal desires didn’t count.
Though it was a pathetic attitude for a healer, Miz wanted to gnash her teeth and snarl; she never attended a healing willingly, but by damn she always attended.
After she parked her bike, climbed down the sloping drainage ditch that separated the road from the trees, entered the wooded area, and batted at the low hanging branches blotting out the moon, she switched on her flashlight and muttered a promise.
“Oh goddesses of moonlight, healing, crop growing, fish swimming, trees, air, sky, earth and any other frigging thing you want to claim—hear me. If my ass gets eaten by a damned bear out here, you’ll be sorry.”
Her stupid threat had Miz hoping the deities up there were asleep. Damn this shit. It better be the frigging President of the United States I’m saving. The flashlight she gripped in her hand now pointed like a divining rod that had just sensed an underground stream.
Oh for God’s sake. Miz looked down at the animal tucked deeply in shadows. Had the light from her flashlight not reflected off a glint of metal, she might have missed the big cat caught in a conibear trap.
He snarled weakly as her light played over his form, but his fierce gaze threatened death to her if she came closer.
“Well as to that, boyo, it’s not me who needs help,” Miz murmured grimly, walking around the animal caught in the deadly snare. She squatted on her heels and laid her hand on the huge back paw. The cat flinched under her touch, flexing its claws, retracting them, then spreading them again.
She studied the beast. It was a big male of an indeterminate species, his golden pelt dotted with black rosettes. Not something she would have thought to find in the Appalachian Mountains. On the other hand, she didn’t know much about what roamed the woods here about. But, even as she watched, the beast’s chest heaved, fighting for air.
Regardless of his kind, the fact remained that unless she freed the animal soon, the lethal jaws clamping him in a body grip were going to squeeze the life from him.
“Nope, can’t let that happen.” She ripped the strings from her boots and squatted next to the trap spring.
“Got your ass caught tonight, didn’t you, Sunny?” She laid her hand on his hip and talked shit in a soothing voice. “I just want it understood after I rescue your sorry hide, you’ll leave me alone.”
She met his gaze. He seemed intelligent. “You look smart enough. I’m surprised you—” A low rumble interrupted her nervous chatter.
She dragged a thick branch close enough to grab, not sure whether it was for the rescue attempt or protection from the rescued afterward. Then using her boot strings to tie off the top spring, she pulled the string through the bottom spring loop and stood, hauling up until the spring was compressed and the trap temporarily lost its grip on the animal.
“Better get a move on, Sunny, I can’t hold this forever.” Miz hoped the beast could save himself, because she didn’t have a second set of hands to drag him clear.
As soon as the cat’s ribs were released from pressure, he grunted and twitched his tail angrily, struggling to get to his feet. Unable to stand, he dragged himself out of the metal jaws before he collapsed weakly on the ground and stared at her in misery.
“Well, mister. Misery’s my specialty. Let me have a look.” She murmured reassurances as she squatted over him, pressing her hands against his chest.
Whoa. Gray streaks of death swirled through the cat’s lungs, continuing to block his breathing.
“What in five hells is that? Some sonofabitch poisoned you, too?” What she was seeing inside the cat didn’t make a lot of sense. “Doesn’t matter. Whoever did it needs to have his ass kicked from here to Sunday.”
She lay her hands on him and spread heat through his body, her magic clearing the dark streaks from his lungs and healing the bruised muscles and ribs. She had no idea how long she remained connected to the beast. It felt like forever.
Without warning, the cat heaved himself to his feet, staggered for a moment, and then sat facing her. Miz landed on the thick branch she’d grabbed earlier. She shifted sideways, too stunned by the abrupt disconnect from her patient to do more.
They stared at each other. From its resting place in the brush, the flashlight illuminated him clearly. He was magnificently beautiful, his fur a bright spot of molten gold in the otherwise dark night. She frowned and told him, “You sure ain’t from these parts, Sunny.”
He chuffed and stared at her from amber eyes tinged with red.
“Just keep in mind, we had an agreement.” She closed her fingers around the branch, ready to use it as a club if need be. Unfortunately, she rather desperately needed to puke.
She hated an audience, but it was a cat. He didn’t seem inclined to stop her when she levered herself up with the branch, staggered to her feet, and stumbled to a pine tree. Leaning against it, she aimed for the bushes, and vomited for the second time that day. Beads of sweat made her body shiver and her teeth chattered as if it were a cold night instead of hot and humid.
She retched until she was wrung inside out. Finally done heaving, Miz collapsed, sliding down the tree trunk to sit with her back against it and her knees up, facing the animal. His head cocked sideways as he returned her stare. She couldn’t read his expression but it seemed more curious than mean.
“That was some nasty stuff you had in you, Sunny. I’d be watchin’ what I eat, from now on, ‘twas it me,” she drawled. Then not feeling energetic enough to move, Miz closed her eyes. “You need to go away, now.”
He was so quiet she didn’t feel his presence until his breath brushed hot against her cheek. She opened her eyes in time to see his big maw come at her. She’d always heard you watched your life pass like a movie when you faced death, but all she could think was, Fuck!
He nudged her head to the side, almost gently. She thought he was going to nuzzle her like a house cat. Actually, he was purring. It made Miz smile, she almost laughed out loud when his whiskers brushed her neck.
“Would you freaking get off me,” Miz muttered, trying to shove the cat away from her. She squirmed, not getting far, since the cat had a front paw on either side of her, pinning her against the tree with his head.
He swiped her cheek with his tongue, another strange sensation. It was rough, abrasive. The half scared nervous laugh she’d been trying to hold back escaped and came out sounding like an insane giggle that became a screech. Go figure. At the same moment, she’d laughed, he bit her shoulder.
Dammit, that hurt. The pain cleared her fuddled brain and shocked her limbs into motion. She punched the cat in the nose with her fist.
He snorted, shook his head, then butted her arm as though telling her to get up.
“Fine,” she groaned, grabbing the branch and the flashlight that still pointed at them from where she’d tossed it.
She wanted to run like hell through the woods, but leaned on her make-shift crutch and hobbled along instead. Though he kept to the shadows, she felt the presence of the cat until she left the trees to climb th
e steep slope leading to the road. It took her a while, but she finally managed to reach her bike and mount. Wearily, she strapped on her helmet and started the Harley.
The engine purred beneath her like a sleek cat as he stepped from the tree line into the moonlight. Powerful muscles rippled beneath a tawny pelt and his head seemed massive when he turned to stare at her. Miz could see he’d recovered quite well. Nice to know he felt fine. She felt like crap.
“Thanks for nothing,” she whispered gruffly. He snorted, curled his lip at her, and disappeared, while she returned home without the coffee creamer that had been her reason for the trip.
Just another crazy adventure to add to the insanity of my life. But when Miz sat on her porch, waiting for the sun to rise and drinking coffee whitened with milk, she touched the bite mark on her shoulder.
Not so much as a bump remained. She went to the bathroom inside and peered into the mirror, inspecting the wound. Only there wasn’t anything there. Nothing. Nada.
She returned to the outside and crossed to her bike, reassured when she felt the heat from the engine. She hadn’t lost her mind. What had happened had been real. But the absence of an animal bite made no sense. The one thing Miz had never been able to heal was herself.
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