by Livia Quinn
“Zeus, you’re giving me an awful lot of credit.”
He shook his head, “No, it’s true. Can you forgive me, sweetheart?” I almost said for what? But that would have been dishonest. “For ignoring you, hurting you, acting like an insufferable bastard and for being such a whiner!” He swiped a hand through his hair and pushed away from the couch. He was on a roll now, pacing. “I acted like I’m the only person who ever went through an unexpected change and I let fear take over. Not very heroic…”
“Maybe I’d better jump in here. You’re digging yourself a pretty big hole.” I laughed, “But you did kinda nail it.”
His mouth turned down and he shook his head, “It’s just… I’m so used to planning things out, my career, our move to Destiny, how our life was going to go. Everything was in a nice neat package.”
“And then—”
He laughed softly, eyes crinkling as he gazed as me. “Then a sexy mail lady stepped onto my porch and zapped me. Things haven’t been the same since.”
My smile faded. “Was it all my fault what happened to you?”
He frowned, “Where did that come from? You, Tempe Pomeroy, are the best thing that ever happened to me, and to Jordie. I have to include her ‘cause we’re a package deal.”
He picked me up and twirled me round and round. With his carefree laugh, he sounded like a new man, staring into my eyes with such tenderness my heart stammered. As his lips met mine my last thought was that I didn’t want him to stop kissing me, or touching me like I was essential to him.
Chapter 40
“Honey, I think I smell ozone.”
Jack
Tempe’s passionate response was more than I deserved. Her reaction and Jordie’s convinced me I was still the man I’d always been—that I could still dream, and like a brick to the head, I realized I’d stopped dreaming when we started running, but not running away. All this time, with everything that had transpired, we’d been coming home.
Desire spun through me like a wildfire, her hot willing body pressed hard against mine, but I pulled back. I needed to know, so I went first. “I love you, sweetheart.”
Her soft gaze went a little watery, but she didn’t say anything. She closed her eyes, and I nearly panicked. When they opened they were so filled with love, I couldn’t possibly have misread them. She’d never been good at hiding her emotions. I smiled at her as she said, “I thought I’d never hear you say that again, Jack.” Her voice caught in her throat. “I love you more than I ever thought was possible. We can handle whatever comes next together.”
Together. I liked the sound of that. I was overcome with gratitude for my feisty redhead. I kissed her and held on until we were both out of breath. “Honey, I think I smell ozone. Between your fireworks and my unpredictable shifts, it might be better if we took this outside.”
Tempe
The full moon was high creating sparkling pathways on the water as he walked outside to the backyard amid the sounds of rain frogs and crickets. On a soft moonlit clearing he stretched out on the grass beside me and clasped my hand with his. He must have felt my doubt for he tilted my chin up and kissed me gently, “What is it?”
“Are you… sure?”
He lay there for a moment staring into the starry sky. When his eyes opened they were soft iridescent silver, happy and like the sky itself, serene.
“I’m a changed man, Tempe. My destiny’s always been here, always with you.” He swept a hand down his long length, “Always…this, whatever it may become. I lost the wind under my sails, but because of you I’ve found my compass again.”
My heart flipped over even though I pressed him, “But you can’t fly…” I couldn’t make this easy. He needed to be sure. I needed to be sure.
“Smarter people than me have said, ‘If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen’ and if not, it won’t change the fact that I’m right where I want to be—home.” His words were sure. “I don’t regret a minute of my life because it led me to Destiny and you.”
His sexy smile said unless I had more reservations, he was ready to put action to his words. He flipped and eased over me onto his elbows. “Nights like this were made for flying,” he said as he planted urgent kisses along my neck.
I wished with every bit of magical power I had in me we’d be able to experience the special rush of flying again through the night sky, shooting straight up toward the stars. The last time had been after the Para-moon the night Jack had changed. What if the wonderful magic was gone? Well, if so, and our connection was still just as powerful, maybe we’d find a new way to express the exuberance that poured out during our lovemaking.
“You know, that bionic light thing seriously rocks.” He frowned, “I’m sounding…”
“Romantic? Happy?” I laughed. “He was practically gushing. “Are you sure you didn’t inhale some of that gray smoke?”
He didn’t take the bait. “You make me want to fly, Tempest, even if the only way that can happen is through our lovemaking.” We undressed each other slowly and I lay back, watching the play of muscle and strength, his aura mesmerized like shimmering powdered diamonds.
He smiled, “I love watching you go crazy. Your eyes do that weird meteor shower thing when you’re feeling frisky.” He put his hand over my breast and bent his head to nuzzle my cheek, “Say something.”
I raised my hands to his shoulders and whispered, “Love me.”
I do. Let’s fly. I’d heard his thoughts, then he covered me and I was spiraling under his spell.
His fingers plucked at my nipple, eyes snapping to vertical slits when I responded with a moan. Then he used his lips and tongue to savor all my happy places from my neck to my toes until I reached for him… and found him primed.
Gently, he parted my legs, slid in with one smooth thrust as we became one. Color and light danced behind my eyes as he finally seated himself deep. Then we were moving together, faster and faster and I filled to bursting with love and an effervescence that vibrated just under my skin. I flew past the moon and beyond; past moonbeams, the Milky Way and a silvery trail through a billion stars.
This time there’d been heat, a lot of it. I felt like I was on fire. He cried out and I felt him, pulsing, pulsing and then everything exploded into a cataclysm of color. As I drifted back toward the waters of the Forge I smiled, “That was the best flight ever.”
Fire was everywhere, not just a figment or metaphor. There was a clap of thunder and the air shimmered with the sparks that cascaded down followed by a soft steady, soothing shower. I chuckled. “I guess the rain was to keep from burning up my lawn,” I said and scooted back to snuggle against him, but he didn’t answer.
I turned on my side. He wasn’t there. I frowned and sat up, searching. Our cries had temporarily quieted the night creatures but they were starting up again. “Jack?” I searched the ground where he’d been and seeing a pile of something like dirt, I scooped it up in my hand. It was warm.
Ashes. I panicked. “Jack!”
Chapter 41
What did she mean—I didn’t look like a dragon?
Tempe
Tempe? It was Jack’s voice. I whipped around but his voice was in my head. “Jack, where are you? Darling—”
Up here. I looked toward the house.
No, up! His voice gently suggested. My head tilted and suddenly I understood why the entire property behind Harmony looked as if it were bathed in sunlight. Jack was floating above me, his shine quotient pumped up exponentially. I had to shade my eyes to keep watching as his wings and tail feathers fluttered like waves in the breeze. His head angled as he peered down at me.
I said, “You’re—”
He…grinned. I know, flying, right? But his dragon expression changed to one of doubt, You’re not doing this are you? he asked, the suspicious note reminiscent of the old Jack.
I laughed, reminding myself to communicate with my mind. I’d discovered I could read his thoughts months ago, but this was the first time we’d had an intentional
two-way conversation. I can call the wind, Jack, but I didn’t make this happen. You’ve finally discovered your wings. Though… I frowned. When I got closer to him, I saw that his ‘skin’ and even his body were different than before.
What is it? Voice wary, he cocked his head.
It’s just that your wings look more like, I don’t know… like flames, and you don’t look like any dragon I’ve ever seen.
Jack
What did she mean, I didn’t look like a dragon? The breeze was so quiet as I gazed down on her. There was no wind to speak of yet without any effort whatsoever, my body simply floated. What do you mean? I flapped my wings to show her that I might not look like a real dragon by God, I was flying.
I drifted lower over the water trying to catch my reflection but the breeze made my image on the surface ripple and shift. I glanced over my skinny shoulder and down the length of my body at my wings. They weren’t wide and flat like Conor’s wings for sure, more like… the shock almost made me fall into the swamp but I caught myself. I’m—I look like my mother.
Tempe watched me thoughtfully for several minutes then she turned and looked down at the pile next to her. “Jack?” her voice was odd and I tensed. “I think—” I know why you thought your dragon wings were broken.
Why? I asked. It seemed so natural to just float in the wind above her now.
You’re not the same as you were before…
Spit it out, will you?
“I—” Mindlink, Tempe. She tried again. I think your mother is a phoenix.
The clouds cleared and the moon shown on my reflection and what Tempe was seeing. The mirrored image from the black water looked like a silvery image of the air currents I’d studied in flight school. Well, this was a new wrinkle. I understood why I was floating but could I actually fly, with some kind of propulsion, and on command? How would I make it happen?
With my eyes locked on Tempe’s, I stretched out the entire length of my wings, lifting them until they were at a forty-five degree angle. Then I aimed my snout or beak, or whatever the hell, at the moon and slammed my wings down toward the water. I wasn’t prepared for the thrust my fluffy looking plumage achieved. The sky tilted, the moon disappeared from sight and I tumbled backwards onto my ass feathers into the swamp, displacing a ton of water.
As first flights go it wasn’t a total loss. I focused the next time on control and shot out of the water imagining myself into spirals and loops, shooting light into all the night creatures’ hidey holes. I rolled and turned and played, then I froze in mid-air probably looking to Tempe like a very smart otter pup on his first swim.
Tempe’s eyes were bright with longing. You’re awesome. I’m so happy for you. Her hands rose toward me and wind rushed in a wave lifting her up to my eye level. Somehow she climbed onto my neck and I thought, Hang on! or hoped I did.
“To what?” she screamed. I felt something curl around my neck. She’d figured out a way to ride securely so I put the hammer down, flew higher, and tested my wings with a few wide loops… How fast could I go?
What about a barrel roll like you did in our dream?
That’s my girl. I set the spin in motion and shot toward the moon. She must have thought I was taking her there because she squealed with excitement. It was better than being at the controls of a fighter jet, because the propulsion was part of me. I was in sync with the sky and the currents I’d understood only as theory before. As we turned toward the lake, time seemed of no consequence and long after midnight we settled into an easy pattern drifting among the clouds.
It’s so peaceful. The lake is incredible from up here. Tempe’s voice was full of awe.
For the first time in my life I felt whole, and I wanted to make love to Tempe again. Her fingertips ran over my scales causing sparks to fly at her touch. It was like being plugged into the sun. Then her cheek touched my skin and my heart pounded out of control, galloping like I was in a race. What was happening?
Tempe
I could fly, I discovered as I watched the water race by hundreds of feet below and we drifted through the night sky. Not with wings like him, but together we were one with the elements, drawn toward the light of the moon. He was fire and I was air. He was light and I, the wind. I felt my corporeal body shifting as the elements were drawn from me, creating a spiral of water droplets that spread out across the sky below us.
I hugged the dragon’s body once again and watched as the beauty of our creation unfolded around us—like a giant moonbow. You said you wanted to make love on a moonbeam… He changed and I became my lover once again. He knelt on that carpet of beams, his eyes blazing up at me with love. My breasts swelled and my womb ached as I gave myself to him. As our spirits merged among the clouds, the moon and stars bathed us in their blessings. On his release, he set fire to the mist and my raindrops exploded into tiny fireworks that hung suspended around us, a magical curtain for our eyes only.
Time had no beginning or end, until the sun began to ease up along the horizon, fading the moonlight and connecting us back to the earth. We’d been coasting… how long, I didn’t know.
The horizon tilted as Jack turned. I see a beach below. I’m going to land. His elegant silver form, looking a bit more like his dragon now, glided in a wide circle. The last vestiges of the refracted light created a lens effect magnifying part of Fierce Winds Isle and exposed a beach.
No longer riding the dragon but in tandem with him I sensed his hesitation as we neared the ground. What do you see? There was nothing but sand and blue green water but he’d stopped, suspended above the beach and his emotions swirled through me.
Jack
The scene unfolded before my eyes like a dream, but in my heart, I knew it was my future. A tiny red headed girl straightened from the ankle deep waters, splashing droplets into the air. She was dressed like a princess complete with crown and magic wand. When she saw my shadow her green eyes sparkled. “Daddy,” she cried happily.
On closer inspection I saw that the crown was made of small puffy clouds circling her head and her wand was a child-size bolt of lightning—blue. The tinkling sound of her giggles made my heart swell.
I dropped to the sand in my human form with my Tempestaerie in my arms. I just held her, overwhelmed that I could finally appreciate my new life. She gazed up into my eyes, a little concerned. “Are you all right?”
I nodded. When I could speak past the lump in my throat I said, “I’ve never been happier. I love you, Tempe,” and kissed her.
The kiss was interrupted by a familiar voice as a heavy hand landed on my shoulder. “I thought I heard thunder so it had to be you, aye?” We broke apart to find Conor smiling at us. “There are no storms on Fierce Winds Isle, ye ken?”
“Conor? What are you doing here?” I asked, surprised to see him, though I don’t know why. He had a knack for showing up when you least expected it.
Conor’s chest expanded when he crossed his arms. “I’d planned on bringin’ ye both here today so yer arrival is timely.”
He nodded toward the beach where Montana led a craft that looked like an ancient canoe. She jumped out into the water and dragged it onto the sand. Two people rose from the seats, wobbly legged.
Tempe cried, “Inez and Mr. Jackson—”
Phineas paid no attention to us. He helped Inez rise, kissed her hand and said, “Come here, Mrs. Jackson. I don’t want to waste a minute of our new life.”
Tempe glanced at Montana. “But how?”
“Well, it was your idea. I told Conor and he arranged it,” Montana said. She helped the older man out first and allowed him to lift Inez onto the beach. Inez bent down and pulled her shoes off wiggling her toes in the sand. They walked slowly at first then in front of our eyes, the feeble woman next to Phineas straightened and started pulling him backwards. Their pace picked up, then like the newlyweds they were, they took off down the beach, their youth mysteriously restored.
“What just happened?” I asked Tempe, scratching my head. She clasped my hand
to her heart, tears brimming on her lashes as we watched the once frail lovers frolic like teenagers.
Montana smiled as she watched them, “Conor arranged for them to live here as long as they want. He’s a sweetie, my dragon.” She winked at Conor who reached out to draw to his side.
I laughed as Inez shoved Phineas into the water, splashed him and darted away, high stepping through the waves to the beach. He caught her and took her in his arms, the change in him extraordinary.
“How long will it last?” I asked Conor.
“Ach, for as long as they remain here, which could be a verra, verra long time. We’ve arranged for them to be caretakers.”
Montana said, “This side of the Isle is like a resort for Paramortals. They’ll have everything they need, and work, to keep them occupied.”
Conor’s golden eyes narrowed on me then his eyebrows rose, “So, you finally have your wings, aye?” He said meaning, I told you so. Which he had.
His soft words dropped into the silence, “And ye’ve mated.”
Tempe
Mated? Zeus neon stars! Was it true? I looked from Conor to Jack seeing him through fresh eyes, the eyes of someone who’d seen his brashness in the beginning, the cockiness, then the loss of all his core beliefs and the resiliency that allowed him to bounce back again and again until now. I was stunned as I really saw at him.
He stood eye to eye with Conor. With his new brawny strength, his long flowing bronze hair and confidence, he was the most magnificent creature and the very best man I’d ever known, and he was mine.
Nodding at Conor, Jack looked at me and winked. “Yes, though I don’t know if there’s a name for my… hybrid form yet.”
“Ach,” Conor waved a hand, “yer a dragon, mon, albeit a verra pretty one.” He grinned. “I guess the healer was right then; we’ll wait and see what happens with the wolf. In the meantime, let’s get some ale. You will need an official introduction to the Moat of Morpheus.”