by Leela Ash
Alarm flooded her. She couldn’t, of course. She had work, lots of work. And responsibilities that left no time for love. And... and… he’d kidnapped her, for crying out loud! That was no way to Claim someone!
Yet another thought silenced her fears.
Can I say no?
Claiming was the most sacred rite of the Shifter world. Fate itself brought the souls together. They were two halves of one soul, destined to be together. To deny a Claim was to turn your back on love itself.
Did she truly want that? Did she want a life with no love, no home or family? Only work and scholarship?
No. I want it all. Love and my magic!
Then only one answer would do. “I do. I give my consent.”
With a roar, the lion reared, spreading its wings wide. From the blue heavens the voice cried, “Then Claim each other! Become Mates and walk in both light and shadow!”
The Chimera faded away. Leaving them alone… and her strangely shy. “So… what now?”
“Now I join you.” Strength and confidence flooded back into Griffin’s words, now that the decision was made.
With a brush of his hand, the towel fluttered to the floor.
One gesture revealed him to her in all of his splendor. Hard, taut legs. Sculpted calves. And above them, his manhood, thick and long. Only now beginning to awaken from its slumber.
Giddy with delight, she could do nothing more than watch him as he stepped over the edge of the tub. He eased himself into the water, sighing as his body slid into its liquid embrace.
Maddie had had lovers before. Occasional flings and trysts that never lasted long. In theory she knew what needed to be done now. Yet she sat, frozen with indecision. Seized by a hunger so great that it held her in place, terrified to act, lest she ruin the moment.
No such fear gripped the Chimera. He slid to her side of the bath. Hidden by the roses, slick beneath the waters, she felt the hardness of his thigh rub against her leg. Longing rose, fierce and hot, and her breath caught in her throat.
Now they sat, hip to hip, facing each other. She straightened, the move sending her breasts bobbing to the water’s surface. That enticing motion drew his eyes downward inexorably and his lips parted as his breath grew faster. Somewhere beneath the ripples, she knew that his manhood had woken now. And that it would not rest again until both of them were completely satisfied.
Arms circled her, pulling them together. He bent down and their lips met, sending a rush of pure electricity coursing through her body. Under his touch, her body melted. She wrapped herself around him, lost in the wonders of that kiss. His hand glided across her body. Stroking her thigh and the curve of her buttocks. Rising along the sweep of her back and descending again. Everywhere he touched, her body came alive. An ache, delicious and irresistible, filled her.
Their lips parted. For a moment they simply held each other, ragged breaths betraying the passion woken by their embrace. Griffin’s eyes, molten gold, searched her face. All illusions, all hiding, had ended with their vows and he allowed her to look upon his true self. Even the secrets of his heart would be laid bare now. Voice rough with desire and hope, he whispered, “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this. I never dared to believe this day would come.”
Called by his pain, his new-found joy, she kissed him again. Offering him the proof he needed that she shared his yearnings. Now, at this moment, her body spoke more clearly than words ever could.
She ran her fingers through the unruly locks of his hair, reveling in the feel of them spilling through her hands. His mouth found hers again. Once more they kissed. More slowly, lips lingering, exploring. Scattered sighs at passing delights... when he sucked greedily at the fullness of her lip, the moment when his tongue slipped between her lips, seeking hidden pleasures. Every touch, every kiss, stoked the heat that woke within her. Born as a soft, aching need, that fever grew. It spread throughout her, sending shivers coursing through her body. Awakening a yearning, a need, deep inside her. Between her legs a fiercer hungry – sharp and greedy – blazed to life.
In the tub’s warm, wet depths, they played. Learning the secrets of their bodies. Feeding the flames of passion until it burned hot. Yet in time those stone walls became a hindrance, a prison that held them back from greater pleasures.
Griffin was the first to escape. A faint moan slipped past her lips as he stood. He roves above her. Wet. Naked. His cock jutting proudly into the air. Pausing, he let her hungry eyes savor him, then stepped out of the tub and offered her his hand.
She took it. At once he drew her up, as if she weighed no more than a kitten. Then it was her turn to stand before him, to reveal the wonders of her own body to his hunger. Golden eyes drank in the sight of her. The rounded globes of her buttocks, trickles of water streaming down their smooth curves. Her belly, and the peach fuzz beneath it which concealed her secrets. The swell of her breasts, damp…
…and covered with roses. One impish petal hid a nipple, as if some bashful Cupid sought to protect her modesty.
Griffin chuckled at the sight. “We need to do something about that.”
A towel lay, folded neatly beside the bath. He scooped it up and let its thick, fluffy length unroll across his hands. Then slowly, with smooth, firm strokes, he dried her off.
His first goal was that wayward petal. Maddie gasped in pleasure as she felt the towel enfold her breast. Soft cotton slid across her nipples. Teasing them – and banishing that petal to the ground. Beneath the cloth’s softness she felt the hardness, the strength of Griffin’s hands. His fingers circled her nipples, teasing, long after the last water had been wicked away.
Then the towel slid lower. Sweeping the moisture from her back, her belly. Caressing her buttocks. Slipping forward to rub gently against her sex. At that touch she whimpered, devoured by her own need. She longed for him to take her then, to drag her down to the floor and claim his Mate.
Instead, towel and hands retreated before her need overcame her, leaving a boundless desire in their wake. He knelt before her as he dried her legs, hands gliding up and down the length of her long limbs. His face hovered inches away from her sex, sending her passion blazing even higher.
That hunger, grown perilously sharp, dimmed as he rose to his feet. Maddie trembled, shaken by the intensity of the need that coursed through her body.
Griffin held out the towel with an impish smile. She took it, determined to share her pleasure with him.
First she stepped behind him. Few beads of water remained on his shoulders and back. The lean, hard planes of his body left no curves where water could hide. Still, she caressed him. Letting him, too, savor the delightful contrast between the towel’s softness and the heat of her hands. Back and shoulders dry, she dropped lower, massaging his taut ass. Beneath her hands she felt him straighten as she massaged his buttocks.
The simplest way to dry his chest would be to stand in front of him. But Maddie had other, more delightful ideas. She leaned against his back, felt the heat of his muscles whisper against her nipples. Then she reached around him, raising the towel to his chest.
With slow, luxurious strokes she caressed his chest. Fingers tracing the lines of his muscles, the towel leaving no drops hidden in his hair. Each movement pressed their bodies close. His buttocks firm against the dampness of her sex, her breasts rubbing, teasing, against his back.
Lower the cloth fell, to whisper across his cock. In her arms Griffin groaned. Driven by his need, he grew hard as steel. Eyes closed, leaning against his shoulder, she gently caressed his manhood. Feeling its power, its promise in her hand.
Without warning he broke away. He spun, golden eyes burning with desire, and swept her into his arms.
The time for play had ended. Passion would no longer be denied.
Cradled in his arms, she marveled at the careless strength that held her aloft so easily. His embrace was a snare, a prison that she never wished to escape.
Gently he lowered her to the bed. Satin whispered across her skin,
cool and sensual. Then he joined her and she opened herself to welcome him. Maddie gazed up at the man above her, caught in the throes of longing. Powerful, masculine, he gazed down, his eyes blazing with desire. A lion with his lioness.
A Chimera and his Mate.
With a sure, masterful stroke, he entered her. Maddie cried out as he filled her, found her most secret parts. The touch of his cock deep within her drove her wild. All this night she’d burned with desire. Now, as he slid within her, that fire blazed. Higher and hotter than she had ever dreamed.
With thrusts of his powerful hips he claimed her, his manhood sliding back and forth through her wet, welcoming sex. Every stroke drove her wild, sent waves of ecstasy washing across her body. She moaned, writhed, her fingers clawing at the satin beneath her. His thrusts wrenched loud, animal cries of need from her lips. Soon joined by his own groans of need and pleasure.
As her ecstasy reached its maddening crescendo, Maddie wailed. Her hips thrust, driving her against her Mate’s cock. That need, that wild desire, sent them both over the edge. He came, sending his seed spilling deep within her, at the same moment that pleasure consumed her.
Slowly he withdrew, panting. The sheets, now damp with the sweat of their lovemaking, clung to Maddie’s body as Griffin collapsed by her side. She turned to him. Wrapping herself in the hot, damp heat of him. Letting that heat help her hold onto the rapture as it began to slip away. She longed to hold it forever, though that was impossible. Only the knowledge that there would be other nights – that this was the first of a lifetime of nights of passion – consoled her.
Chapter 6.
What a difference a day could make! Or, well, a night in Maddie’s case.
She awoke, body still tingling with the lingering glow of pleasure. Of an ecstasy greater than any she’d known. Her heart sang. For years, a hole had pierced it. An emptiness she’d never acknowledged. No, she’d simply worked harder, played harder, in a desperate attempt to ignore the fact that she was miserable. Success and ambition could never fill that void.
Only love could do that.
Dazed, she wandered to the doorway of Mrs. Grey’s home, bare feet padding silently across the hard-packed dirt. People rose early here; already a dozen elderly men and women puttered about their daily chores. Watering gardens, cleaning.
Griffin had risen early too. In a small patch of shade he sat, watching the locals go about their business. A sudden dart of fear struck her at the sight of him. What if last night wasn’t real? What if it was some foolish dream, a batch of nonsense she made up?
Then he saw her – and the delight that lit his face swept away that silly worry. He bounded to his feet and rushed to her side, sweeping her into his arms, kissing her. Oh, kissing her, with a hunger, a need, every bit as fierce as the passion they shared last night. A kiss that promised a lifetime of such wonders. Every night could be last night, every day a joy she’d never imagined.
When their lips parted she leaned against his chest, reveling in his heat, the primal, male scent of his body. This was her man, her Chimera. Her Mate for all times. And this fever that burned in her blood, this giddy, delirious excitement?
Was that love? Had she finally found it, at last?
“I guess I don’t need to ask if you shared that dream last night,” she chuckled.
He buried his face in her hair, surrounding himself with her scent as well. “I never dared to hope for this. I mean, I knew that my Kind had a Rite of Claiming, like Dragons do. I never heard of anyone finding their Mate, though. Never imagined that I… that we…”
For a time, they simply stood there, savoring the closeness and the memories of ecstasy. Bound together in their embrace by the vows they’d spoken. Eventually the stares and quiet chuckles of the elders stirred them to move. Arm in arm they strolled to Mrs. Grey’s and shared a meal of freshly gathered eggs and strong, dark coffee.
It was heaven – and, like all bliss, it couldn’t last forever. Reality, as always, reared its head. Unlike yesterday, however, today didn’t seem as ugly to her.
“So, I’ve been thinking…” she started, reluctant to shatter the delicious atmosphere.
“Me too,” Griffin admitted.
“We need to get permanent wards erected to make sure Nemagorix never harms this town again.”
“Wards? What are those?”
The question startled her. Wards were one of the most basic spells a young Hare learned. Then again, Griffin wasn’t a Hare after all. No surprise he literally didn’t know the first thing about magic.
“Wards are magical circles. Rings of power that can lock a spirit in a prison – or prevent it from entering this world at all.”
Griffin nodded quickly. “Like the salt. Gotcha. And yeah, I see why we need something more permanent than salt. We don’t want all hell – literally – breaking loose the first time it rains.”
“Right. Plus, there’s something strange going on here, something I don’t fully understand. The Cauldron used to have protections. Powerful ones. I can still feel their echoes. But they failed and I don’t know why.” She suspected that those strange shadows flickering around the Cauldron played a role in the downfall of the original wards. “I need to solve that mystery. Otherwise we can’t be sure our new ones will fare any better.”
She was about to suggest some Hares who could help, when Griffin said the most baffling thing.
“We also need to fake your death.”
“My… what?” she gulped.
“Your death. If Sedona thinks you’re still alive, they’ll tear the world apart trying to find you. So we need them to believe that you died.”
“Why?” Every word he spoke was perfectly clear… and made no sense!
Griffin squinted at her, like he suddenly doubted she understood plain English. “So that they don’t come looking for you.”
“Why will they need to look for me? Aren’t we going into town today to talk to them?”
“No. Why would we do that?”
Each stared as if the other had got stark, raving mad.
Maddie found her voice first. “Griffin, I wasn’t joking when I said I needed help. This gate requires permanent protections.”
“And I’ll help you get whatever you need to do that,” he promised.
It wasn’t impossible for one Witch to do this, but… “Look, this will be much easier with help. I mean, I can’t just ‘die.’ Those other Hares are my friends. I don’t want to hurt them like that.”
He reached across the table, cupping her hands in his. “I know, and I’m sorry. But it’s necessary.”
“Why?”
Now a frown darkened his face. Releasing her hands, he leaned back. “You know what I am. Nothing’s changed.”
“Everything changed! We’re Mates! What do you think is going to happen now?”
His words, his plan for the future, chilled her to the bone. “You’ll move to Stillwater. It’s my home, after all. We’ll help the people here keep this gate closed and safe.”
Appalled, Maddie stared about her. At the chickens, scratching in the doorways of the adobe huts. At the thin lines of smoke trickling out of their chimneys. And at the grinding, ever-present poverty around her.
“You can’t be serious. I mean the people seem nice enough, but… Griffin, I can’t live here!”
“You’ll get used to it.” This time when he reached for her hands, she was the one who drew back. “We can travel, of course. I mean, sometimes. You can’t change you face so it will make things more difficult. But if we’re careful… it we don’t travel too often…”
“No! Griffin, this is crazy! You don’t need to hide in some dingy corner of the desert and…”
Oh, that was the wrong thing to say. Now she’d insulted his home. She could see it in the pinch of his lips and the way that he folded his arms across his chest.
Maddie tried to walk her mistake back. “Look, come to Sedona with me. I can explain what happened. You won’t get in trouble, I promise
!”
“How can you say that? You know what I am.”
“You’re a Chimera. A rare Kind of Shifter. So what?”
“Do you know any other Chimeras?”
“No, but…”
“There used to be more.” Hard and unyielding, he shot her a withering stare. “I knew four others when I was young. They’re all dead now. Killed by Shifters.”
That was horrifying – and unbelievable. “By the Fangs of Apophis, I’m sure. Decent Shifters don’t run around murdering people.”
His scowl grew colder, more sarcastic. “Are you telling me that no Wolf Pack ever killed anyone? Not even once?”
“Well yes, accidents do happen.”
“‘Accidents’…” he sniffed.
“And crimes,” she admitted. “They happen among mortals, too. But they’re not normal. You’re not in any more danger than I am.”
“Aren’t I?”
“No!”
“So every other Hare you know has been murdered?”
“Of course not, but…”
“How about four? Do you know four murdered Hares?”
“Well, no. There was one murder recently, but…”
Angry and defiant, he gave her a cold smile. “Then I guess the death rate for my Kind is much higher than the rate for yours.”
This was so insane! Why couldn’t he see how paranoid he was being? “Griffin…”
“Listen to me, please!” Once more he bent close, only now there was nothing comforting about his presence. He burned with a feverish anxiety. One she couldn’t understand, or calm. “Secrecy is a Chimera’s only hope. We have to live in the shadows. When we step out into the open, we die. Maybe it’s the Fangs that kill us. Maybe Shifters aren’t as sweet and nice as you think they are. Doesn’t matter. Either way, we die.”
“Stop! That’s paranoid. That’s crazy.”
“Tell me the truth: have things changed since the Darkborn showed up? How do people feel now that they know that the person they’re talking to could be someone else?”