by Zoe Chant
“You read my mind.”
Annie squealed as Beau suddenly bent at the knees, one hand behind her back and the other behind her own knees, scooping her up in a bridal carry.
“Oh, hey…!”
“Sorry, I just couldn’t resist it,” Beau said, grinning down at her as he carried her the short distance to the bed. “I felt like everything back in Bell’s Hollow happened in kind of a rush. I’d at least like to carry you over a threshold, even if it isn’t quite the threshold.”
Annie laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck and snuggling her head into his chest. She could hear his heartbeat, slow and steady, and it reminded her just how close she’d come to hearing it stop altogether.
She blinked, her stomach churning suddenly. But as if he’d sensed her sudden change in mood, Beau pulled her closer against him, holding her tightly.
“Hey, no worrying about anything right now,” he said, voice low and gentle. “We’re home. It’s Christmas. The only thing we need to worry about right now is how much we’re going to eat tomorrow.”
Annie laughed softly. “No, you’re right. But I can think of at least one other thing I’d like to worry about right now.”
“Oh? It’s a worry?” Beau laughed as he put her down on the bed, swinging his leg up after her, so he was straddling her thighs. “Anything I can do?”
“Oh, it’s probably fine,” Annie said, wiggling up and resting her hands on Beau’s thighs, feeling the hardness of the muscle beneath his jeans. “But better just to make sure.”
“You got it.”
Annie couldn’t hold back her smile as Beau leaned down to kiss her. Everything about him made her smile: his kindness and easygoing nature, his strength and sense of justice, his loyalty and his strong commitment to his family. She’d seen all of it in him today, watching him laugh and banter easily with his sisters and cousins, and take care of his nieces and nephews. All of it had shown her a man she couldn’t wait to spend the rest of her life with.
It doesn’t hurt that he’s hot as hell, I guess, she thought, as, unable to stop herself, she ran her fingers up his sides, pulling at his shirt as she did so.
She felt his bare skin beneath her fingertips and groaned, immediately wanting more. Beau seemed perfectly happy to help her out, covering her hands with his for a moment before yanking his shirt up and over his head, tossing it away into a corner.
Annie groaned at the sight of him, all lean, taut muscle and tanned skin – and all of it was hers.
My mate, she thought in a haze, as she fumbled with her own clothing. All mine. And I’m all his.
The thought sent a surge of heat straight through her, settling in her belly. All she could think about was how much she wanted him – and, from the way his fingers were near-frantically undoing his belt and the buttons of his jeans, how much he wanted her.
It seemed incredible to her, that she of all people could inspire this much desire in him. Annie had never thought of herself as a girl a man would go wild over. Especially not a man like Beau, who she knew could have gotten anyone he wanted with a click of his fingers. He was handsome, fun to be around, easygoing, and wonderful with kids. Any woman would have loved to have him.
But he’d chosen her. Fate had destined them to be together, and their bond as mates was undeniable. It took Annie’s breath away when she thought about it.
The way Beau looked at her, the way he touched her – there was no doubt in her mind that he was just as crazy about her as she was about him.
Which is pretty crazy, she thought, as at last she managed to lift her knees and shove her pants down her legs, taking her panties down with them, kicking them both off her feet a moment later.
Beau rolled over briefly as he shucked off his jeans. Annie groaned yet again at the sight of him, hard and ready. Licking her lips, she reached out, sliding her hands over his heated skin, feeling the velvet steel of his cock against her palms.
“Oh God, Annie…” The groan that left Beau’s throat sent a wave of heat through her. She gasped, feeling too hot, too breathless to think straight.
He was so hot in her hands that Annie could scarcely believe it, and she ran her fingers lightly over him, marveling at the way he threw his head back, groaning, under her touch.
“God, you’re driving me crazy,” he gasped out, as Annie circled his cock with her hand, sliding it up and then down.
She smiled, watching as his stomach muscles twitched, his thighs jerking.
How can this all be for me?
“I wouldn’t want that,” she said mischievously a moment later. “Not too crazy, anyhow.”
Beau cracked open an eye, an answering smile on his own face – and that was all the warning Annie got before she suddenly found their roles very much reversed.
“Hey, no fa-aair!” she cried out, as Beau leapt on top of her, fingers sliding between her legs. “That’s cheating, you used your shifter speed –”
But a moment later she found she couldn’t talk at all, as Beau’s fingers slipped inside her, gently teasing, finding exactly the right place to send pleasure rippling all the way through her body.
Annie closed her eyes, giving herself over to the sensations racing through her body. She didn’t care how much noise she was making – the cabin walls were thick, and anyway, it was a fair distance from the other buildings. Here, she could truly let herself be free.
She gasped, writhing on the bed as Beau’s fingers teased and tormented her, until she was pretty sure she was about to lose her mind.
“Please, Beau,” she finally managed to gasp out. “Please, I can’t stand it –”
“Hmm, you seemed perfectly happy to tease me before,” Beau said, his voice rich and warm. “Any reason I should take mercy on you now?”
Annie groaned, her back arching, her toes curling in the blanket, as Beau’s fingers pressed against her and inside her.
“Ohmygod – seriously, if you don’t – I’ll – I swear –”
Her only answer was to feel Beau suddenly lying against her, the heat of his skin pressing against hers, the heat of his cock pushing between her thighs.
Parting her legs around his hips, Annie arched up, grinding against him, trying to show him just how much she wanted him….
“God, Annie. You drive me so crazy.” Beau’s voice was little more than a husky whisper.
“What are you waiting for, then?”
Apparently Beau didn’t even know the answer to that question himself, since in the next moment she felt his cock nudging against her entrance, before, slowly but surely, he pressed forward, sinking inside her.
It felt just as good as she remembered – just as perfect. Annie moaned as he moved inside her, her fingers digging into his sides, her legs clenching around his hips.
He filled her perfectly – there was no other word for it. It was as if she had found a missing piece of herself.
But then, I suppose that would make sense, she thought dizzily. We were made for each other, after all.
As if affirming the thought, the mated bond pulsed inside her, adding to the heat that filled her body. Perhaps Beau had felt it too, because he groaned, his hips thrusting forward, sending brilliant, dazzling pleasure through every nerve in her body.
“Beau –” Annie’s voice emerged as nothing more than a breathless gasp as flames roiled along her veins. Desperate heat coursed through her with every move Beau made, every gasp of his breath, every touch of his skin against hers.
The golden glow between them only seemed to heighten her pleasure; their souls touched as well as their bodies, deepening their connection to each other. Annie could feel it grow with every second that passed, every time they moved together. All the love, all the happiness that Beau had brought her – and that she had brought him – seemed to flow between them, and she knew, she knew that this was forever.
Forever.
The word sent sparks pinwheeling behind her eyes, as Beau made another hard thrust within her. Ecstasy whirled in her belly, ev
ery nerve alight with pleasure.
She could hear Beau gasping out her name, and she arched up beneath him, wanting more, urging him on.
“Please –” she moaned, as the movement of his hips sped up. “Please –”
Her muscles clenched as she tipped over the edge of her climax, crying out, every part of her flooded with ecstasy. She shuddered, arching up, as a second blinding wave of pleasure washed over her.
Feeling breathless, Annie opened her eyes to find Beau looking down at her, his dark eyes molten with desire as he gazed into her face.
“You’re so beautiful – my mate –” he groaned, still moving within her, and Annie, helplessly moaning, felt a third climax shudder through her.
She could feel Beau pulsing within her, his own body going taut as his climax raced through him. A low groan left his lips, his hips jerking, before he dropped a searing kiss on her mouth as together they rode out their pleasure, sweaty skin pressed to sweaty skin.
Annie wasn’t sure how much time had passed before she felt like moving again. Every single of one her muscles felt utterly relaxed, and sleepiness coiled through her.
Still, she propped herself up on her elbow, looking down at Beau’s face, as he looked up at hers. He raised his hand to tenderly push a few strands of hair back behind her ear.
“You’re amazing,” he said, a moment later. “You know how I feel about Christmas, but this has been a pretty good one, I have to say. Better even than the one when my dad actually let me carve the turkey when I was twelve.”
Annie laughed. “Well, that’s good. I’m glad I at least measure up to turkey.”
“Oh, you’re a bit better than that, I’d say.” Beau leaned up to kiss her, warm and soft.
“Speaking of,” Annie said when she could bring herself to pull back, “I guess one thing I do regret is that we never got to decorate that little Christmas tree, after all the trouble you went to convincing me to get it in the first place.”
“Oh. Right. About that.” Beau gave her a mildly sheepish smile, before pulling himself out of bed and walking across the room. Annie was too distracted by the incredible sight of his naked ass to notice what he was doing at first, but then he went into the bathroom, emerging again a moment later with her little Christmas tree, standing in a bright red bucket tied with a dark green ribbon. “Taa-daaaa.”
“Oh, you brought it?” Annie said in surprise, sitting up on the bed. “I didn’t even notice!”
“I wrapped it up in canvas and snuck it into the car when you weren’t looking,” Beau confessed. “It’s your first proper Christmas tree, after all – one that you chose. It seemed like a shame to leave it there alone. I had the kids sneak it in here while you were chatting to Darla and Court.”
Joy suddenly surged through Annie. Shaking off her post-orgasm lassitude, she bounced off the bed, hurrying across the room to Beau’s side. He put the tree down in time to wrap her up in his arms as she planted a kiss on his lips.
“Thank you, Beau – I honestly didn’t realize how much I wanted to share that with you until now. But you’d already thought of it.”
“Well, it was something I wanted to share with you too,” Beau said, once he’d kissed her again. “It was something I said we’d do together, after all. I wouldn’t have wanted to break my word.”
Annie couldn’t find the words to express the love and happiness that welled up within her. It felt as if the mated bond itself was filling her, spreading its golden warmth throughout her body. The only thing she could do was reach up and kiss him again.
“How do you want to decorate this?” Beau asked when he pulled away again, looking down into her eyes. “Not sure we’ve got anything too fancy here.”
“It’s okay, it doesn’t need to be fancy,” Annie said, looking around the room. Someone had hung a little Christmas star on the doorhandle, and she crossed the room, unhooking it and carrying back over to the tree. “It’s not much, but I think it’ll look pretty cool. Nice and minimalist.”
“Yeah, Christmas minimalism is something my family does not do,” Beau said, laughing. “This’ll be a refreshing change.”
Together, they looped the ribbon the star was hanging from over the top of the tree. It wouldn’t quite sit on the top, but Annie thought it looked cute, sparkling gently in the low light.
“There – now you’ve decorated your own tree properly too,” Beau said.
Annie smiled, reaching up to touch his face. “Thanks to you.”
Overwhelmed by his closeness as he looked down at her, Annie couldn’t stop herself from leaning up to kiss him again, relishing the thrill of heat through her body as she did so.
“So – it’s three days later,” Beau said when she’d finished, sounding a little out of breath. “Have I managed to convince you of the magic of Christmas?”
Annie laughed, kissing him yet again – hard and thoroughly.
Has he convinced me of the magic of Christmas?
“Most definitely.”
A note from Zoe Chant
Thank you for buying my book! I hope you enjoyed it. If you’d like to be emailed when I release my next book, please click here to be added to my mailing list.
Please consider reviewing A Hippogriff for Christmas even if you only write a line or two. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.
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Please consider reviewing A Hippogriff for Christmas even if you only write a line or two. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.
Page down to read a special sneak preview of the first in the Shifters for Christmas series, A Griffin for Christmas.
The cover of A Hippogriff for Christmas was designed by Isabelle Arden.
More Paranormal Romance by Zoe Chant
Outback Shifters Series
Hector
Callan
Euan (coming soon!)
The Lost Dragons Series
A Mate for the Dragon
Fated for the Dragon
Destined for the Dragon
A Bride for the Dragon
Bound to the Dragon
See Zoe Chant’s complete list of books here!
A Griffin for Christmas: Special Sneak Preview
What was that?!
The massive CRASH! that had just sounded from outside was loud enough to make Emilia almost jump out of her skin, even over the furious howling of the wind.
Coop’s head shot up, sleepy eyes suddenly alert, while, by the door, Laurel and Bob started barking.
“It’s okay guys, calm down,” Emilia said, swallowing hard, her heart pounding. “I’m sure it was nothing.”
Maybe the wind had torn the branch from a tree, or one of her trashcans had been picked up and hurled against the wall, she thought. These things happened – and living alone, with the nearest town a half-hour drive away, it was either get used to them, or spend her whole life freaking out.
Besides, while none of her dogs would ever hurt a fly, Laurel was a big German Shepherd, and Max was so huge and hairy he could have been part wolf. Burglars would definitely have thought twice before bothering her, if they’d spent any time at all watching her house before breaking in.
The occasional bump in the night – or in this case, mid-morning – was nothing to worry about.
But that was a little bit more than a bump, Emilia thought, standing up slowly, her knees shaking just a little.
That had been more like...
More like a bump convention, taking place right outside her window.
Taking a deep breath, Emilia marched over to the door, gently pulling Laurel and Bob back by their collars.
“Hey, I said calm down,” she told them again. This time, they listened, and stopped barking right away. But their ears stayed pricked up, eyes alert and fixed on the door.
“It’s nothing, guys. Come to think of it, I think I forgot to put the trashcans in the shed,” Emilia said – but she already kne
w she was going to go out there to check. For her own peace of mind, if nothing else. And, she supposed, to pick up her trashcans and put them in her shed, since she’d apparently forgotten to do that before the storm rolled in.
“I’ll be back in a moment, okay?” she said soothingly as she reached for her jacket, pulling it over her shoulders and zipping it up to her chin. Jez and Suzie, her two smallest dogs, had emerged from their place by the heater now to look at her dubiously.
“You guys worry too much,” Emilia grumbled, shaking her head. “But all right.” Whistling, she called out, “Max!”
Max lumbered out of the living room a moment later, all gray shaggy fur and massive paws. Forget wolf – Emilia sometimes had trouble believing he wasn’t part polar bear!
“I’ll take him with me, okay? Just in case the big bad trashcans try to jump out and attack me.”
None of the dogs looked all that soothed, but, Emilia decided, they’d just have to deal with it.
“Come on, boy,” she said to Max, as she pulled her hat down firmly over her head, and went out into the storm once more.
She gasped as the wind hit her as soon as she stepped out onto the porch. Icy needles of snow pierced into every inch of uncovered flesh, and Emilia pulled up her collar even higher to protect her cheeks. It seemed worse than it had even fifteen minutes ago when she’d gone to check on Harvey. With wind this strong, she’d be lucky if her trashcans weren’t halfway across the county by now.
Whoops.
Well, they definitely weren’t where she’d left them at the side of the house, anyway, she thought as she came around the corner, Max at her side. So, halfway across the county it was, then.
Blinking into the snow, Emilia grimaced. She’d really have to get less lazy about putting them in the shed where they belonged. Especially in this weather.
But... wait...
Now that she thought about it, she recalled... she had put them in the shed. It had been last night, after her boss at the grocery store, Janice, had reminded her about the storm coming in.