by Leela Ash
Strong hands caught her elbows and spun her around, breaking that luscious embrace. Griffin stared at her in open bafflement. “Maddie?”
“Of course it’s me!” she sniffed. “If you were expecting someone else, I am going to be seriously ticked off!”
“But it’s you!”
“Yes?”
“Really you! I thought this was some fantasy. Something my Chimera summoned up to… to…”
His words caught in his throat. He was too much of a man to admit how much he truly cared about her. How the thought of losing her had crushed his heart.
“What happened?” was all he managed to croak.
“Isn’t it obvious?” She snuggled close once more. As she’d suspected, he wore nothing more than swimming trunks. Very little to hide his lean flanks and chiseled muscles from her hungry eyes. “The Rite of Parting failed.”
“That’s impossible!” Did he even notice how he melted in her arms? The way that his body naturally curved towards her, banishing the distance between them? His body knew what it wanted, even as excuses continued to spill from his lips. “It’s not a complex ritual. I did everything you need to do.”
She peered up into his troubled face, seeking a truth he might not be willing to speak. “Did you honestly want to get rid of me?”
Griffin winced at her choice of words. “I wanted to set you free. You refused to be part of my life so…”
“I didn’t want to elope with you,” she corrected gently. “That’s not the same thing at all. I never gave up on you. On us. Maybe that’s why the Rite failed: consent matters. In the Rite of Parting as much as the Rite of Claiming.”
“I don’t understand,” he murmured. Pressed against her, the first flush of desire stirred his manhood. Proving once more that his body was wiser than him. “What does this mean? What are we going to do?”
She kissed the line of his shoulder, savoring the taste of him on her lips. “What we’re going to do is enjoy this gift that Fate has given us.”
“But if the Rite of Parting failed…”
Another kiss. On the lips this time, to silence him. “If it failed, we’ll decide what to do tomorrow. Now, there’s only us.”
He wanted to argue. She could see it in his face. His frown, the pinch of his lips as she pulled back from them. But the temptation of her body, was too great. With a sigh, he relented. Seizing the moment and letting tomorrow take care of itself.
Once more their lips joined. No brief kiss this time. This was a slow, tender embrace. The reunion of two lovers, separated by hardship. Maddie surrendered to the joys of his touch. Sheer, electric pleasure coursed through her as she found herself in his arms once more. Her hands stroked his back. Tracing the muscles of her Mate, her Man with a fierce, possessive joy. Lower her hand slid, across the small of his back. Along the taut curves of his buttocks, hidden by his swim trunks. All of this was hers. He was hers. Forever.
His hands claimed her too. One wound through her hair, silken locks spilling over his fingers. The other swept down to her own buttocks. Kneading them. Stroking them. Teasing at the thin strip of cotton that hid her from him.
For a time, they simply stood, locked in each other’s arms, lost in the bliss of contact. The primal, animal joy of snuggling against your Mate. When they finally parted, heat radiated through Maddie’s entire body. Breath grown deep and ragged, she gazed up at Griffin.
He tossed his chin at the cabin on the slope above them. “Shall we see what kind of a bed it has?”
“No!”
“No?” He shot a dubious look at the dock’s hot, bare boards. “This doesn’t look very comfortable. And unless you’re really into gravel and pine needles, the shore isn’t much better.”
Giggling, she took a step back. “This is a dream, right? So let’s dream of something better than a cabin in the woods.”
Maddie spun and threw her arms wide. With a Witch’s keen will, she pictured her desire. The perfect place to make love to Griffin.
The air at the end of the dock shivered like a mirage above a hot summer’s highway. Slowly a boat faded into view. A barge crafted from white pine, its tall prow curling at the front. In its broad center lay a king-sized bed. A canopy of white silk shielded its sheets and pillows from the blazing sun.
Eyes gleaming with delight, Maddie smiled at her lover. “Better?”
“Much better.” He hopped down and offered her a hand. “My lady?”
As soon as she joined him, the barge drifted away from the dock, driven by some unseen force. Hands joined, they leaned against each other as it slipped through the waters. On the far side of the little pond it glided to a halt among a patch of water lilies. Their sweet, thick scent joined the pine’s sharp tang. Around them ducks paddled, paired as they were. The whirr of crickets, the gentle splash of water lapping against the barge, were their only music.
Then Griffin took her hand and led her to the bed. He lay her down as sunlight painted a tapestry of light and shadow on the canopy above her. Cool silk pressed against her skin. A gentle breeze, warm with the sun’s ardor, caressing her bare skin.
He stood above her, gazing down with wonder and longing. Under the sun’s touch his skin burned bronze. Shadows traced the edges of his muscles, carving them into stark relief against that golden skin. The tight curls of his abs. The longer, twining muscles of his biceps and shoulders. Kissed by the sun he became a god, a statue carved of bronze and shadow. Above it all his eyes, a Chimera’s glorious legacy, were pools of molten gold. Simmering with power – and desire.
As the boat swayed gently, he stroked her cheek. Maddie caught his hand and kissed his fingers, winning a soft sigh. His thumb slid across her lips, a touch which sent a chill whispered down her spine. She caught that finger between her lips and sucked, a teasing, mischievous hint of things to come.
Lower he bent, his breath hot across her bare skin. Kisses scattered along her throat, her shoulders. With a sigh she arched, offering herself to his mouth. His greedy lips slid further down, towards the delights of her breasts.
There, though, they met opposition. Her bikini warded him off, its cotton cloth hiding what he desired so fiercely.
One hand slid beneath her back and raised her from the bed. Maddie arched her back, letting him do as he would. His fingers found the knots that held her top in place. One at her neck, the other in the small of her back. A tug, nothing more, and they fell apart. Another and the cloth slid free. He flung it aside and bent to claim his prize.
Hot and damp, his lips kissed her breasts. Coyly at first, circling the globes with sweet, lingering kisses. Then growing hotter, hungrier as they closed towards her aureoles. His tongue flicked out, lashing her nipples. They came alive under that assault, growing stiff and tender. Each stroke sent a thrill coursing through her, a rush of pleasure that stoked the fire within.
He shifted, pulling himself over her as he adored her breasts. The heat of his crotch burned through the slick black cloth that hid his manhood. She could feel it, its concealed promise, pressing against her own sex. Maddie slipped her legs apart, letting that weight, that heat, nestle closer. Sliding between her thighs. Rubbing against her. Two thin pieces of cloth were all that separated them. His cock, grown harder, bulged against them, drawn by the wet sweetness of her sex. She wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him close. Her own hips ground against him with an animal need. Taunting him. Calling for him. Inviting him to tear away the last cloth that dared to thwart their love.
A growl shook him, an echo of his Chimera’s fierce longing. The desire a lion held for his mate. He rose, his hands sliding along her legs. Pressing them apart as he slipped free from their delicious prison. A gasp, almost a sob, slipped past her lips as their sexes parted.
Strong hands circled her waist and glided across her hips. His thumbs caught the string of her bikini bottoms but did not pause. They curved around the swell of her butt, squeezing, teasing, dragging the unwanted cloth with them. Maddie bent her knees, lett
ing those hands glide across them. Freed from confinement, she felt the warm breeze whisper across the peach fuzz that covered her sex. Hands ran down her legs… and then she was free, the bottom of her suit tossed aside to join its forgotten top.
Passion swelled, becoming a raging torrent that they could no longer hold back. His cock, eager and aroused, pressed against Griffin’s trunks. On his knees he leaned back. One hand caressed the hard planes of his stomach. Slipping under the band of his shorts briefly, only to slide back out. Teasing her, maddening her until he relented and dragged his trunks off.
Free at last, his cock rose. Hard. Long. Hungry. Maddie propped herself up on one elbow. With her other hand she reached for him. Her Mate stiffened and moaned as her fingers closed around his shaft. Panting, his eyes closed in bliss as they slid along its length.
But anything a hand could do, a mouth could do better! She began to rise, intent on showing him as much pleasure as he’d given her. Before she could, though, Griffin pulled back, shaking his head.
Doubt touched her for a moment. Had she done something wrong?
Then she saw it.
The passion that burned inside him. A fire so hot, so intense that tiny motes of light swirled inside his golden Chimera eyes. Every muscle in his body was tense, howling for release. Griffin shivered on the edge of ecstasy. One touch, one caress and she could push him over, denying herself the fulfillment she needed.
Griffin wouldn’t have that. It was why he pulled away from the caress she offered and chose instead to lead them both to rapture.
He lowered himself gently between her legs. Once more their lips met – and then he drove himself forward, entering her. With a moan, Maddie threw her head back. Her cry, her pleasure, exploding. She felt him fill her, touch her deep inside.
Each thrust of his hips was a lash of passion’s whip. In he slid, into her wet, welcoming depths. Slowly at first, with steady, measured strokes. Growing faster, harder as his hunger grew. Devouring all thought, destroying their self-control. Unleashing the primal, animal urges they both shared.
Tossed by waves of ecstasy she bucked beneath him. Pinned. Taken. Fulfilled. Her whimpers of pleasure sharpened and joined his own guttural cries. Fingers clawing, her head whipping from side to side, she rode this wave of joy until it crested. She felt him come inside her as she cried out as her own rapture took her.
The dream was kind. It gave them time.
Time to lie, panting and drained, curled against each other. Time to cuddle against each other until their hammering hearts calmed. Even a short while to kiss once more. A brief promise that this would not be their last union.
Then the dream faded out and harsh reality dragged them back to the real world.
A world where they were alone.
Chapter 12.
For a week, Maddie lived a double life.
All day long, she and her Warren studied the Cauldron. Under the watchful eyes of dozens of Shifter guardians, the Hares worked. Mapping the flow of magical energy around the gate. Collecting stories from all the citizens of Stillwater and combing through them for clues. Attempting to use the Aegis against this place. After an intense debate, the Witch Queen even authorized a scrying attempt. Using enchanted black mirrors, three of the senior Witches peered magically through the gate. On the other side they found a dark, twisted hellhole, full of howling winds and barren stone. Nothing at all like the manicured gardens of the Other Side, the spiritual home of Shifters.
None of this helped, at all. Maddie’s days were crammed full of empty, fruitless investigations.
But her nights…
Every night she joined Griffin in her dreams. On a villa overlooking the French Riviera. In a silken tent beside an oasis surrounded by towering sand dunes. Back in that cabin on the little mountain pond, serenaded by the eerie cries of loons. There, wherever they ‘met’, they found refuge in each others’ arms. Passion… no, ecstasy, filled every moment. Denied during the day, they squeezed a lifetime of joy into those nightly trysts.
So much for the Rite of Parting!
“What are you smiling at?”
“Hmm?” The question snapped Maddie out of those delicious memories – and back to the mundane present.
She and another Hare, Cynthia Mason, rumbled slowly along Stillwater’s dreadful ‘road.’ Today it was their job to pick up enchanted herbs and a couple of arcane texts from Sedona. A long, boring drive – but it did give Maddie a chance to fix one tiny problem. She still had Ash Anderson’s sweater, the one Griffin stole when he took the Aegis. Since the psychic hadn’t visited Stillwater, it would be a kind gesture to drop it off at the Warren.
To her relief, the other Witch had offered to drive, leaving Maddie plenty of time to muse about her problems. Now, though, the red-head scowled at her. “What’s so wonderful? You’ve got an enormous grin plastered across your face.”
“Oh, uh, nothing.”
If only she had a friend, someone she could trust! Maddie longed to confess her nightly unions to someone. Sometimes you couldn’t work things out by yourself. You needed a friend’s advice, a fresh perspective.
Sad to realize that she didn’t have a friend she could trust that way. Here, in the middle of her Warren, her closest associates… and she was still alone.
No one had condemned her for becoming Griffin’s Mate… exactly. But it was clear that Casey Briggs’ tales about evil Skin Walkers unsettled the other Shifters. People she’d known for two years turned suddenly cool towards her, and watched her with somber, wary gazes.
Well, screw them. Maybe they didn’t have a problem with condemning entire Kinds of Shifters – but she did. Frankly she was beginning to think that Griffin had a point. He wouldn’t get a fair hearing.
Though I’m not willing to just run away with him either.
No, she needed to fix this problem, not flee it.
Rocks and potholes gave way to tar as they reached the highway. Once more Maddie drifted into daydreams and pointless musing.
Until suddenly she realized they’d made a wrong turn.
“Cynthia? We’re heading away from Sedona.”
What was wrong with the other Hare? She clutched the steering wheel tightly, as if she expected Maddie to wrench it away from her. “We need to stop somewhere else first. Then on to Sedona.”
Cynthia slowed and pulled off onto an unmarked, rutted path. One that was even nastier than Stillwater’s – something Maddie hadn’t thought possible. For the second time this morning she found herself bumping and lurching off into the wilderness.
“What on earth is out here?”
“A man.”
That was about the most unhelpful answer in all of history! “Who would live out here?”
“Some Navajo man. Mr. Briggs recommended him.”
Okay, that made sense. Maddie relaxed. Well, relaxed as much as she could while being rattled from side to side. “Why are we meeting him?”
Cynthia stared straight ahead, unable – or unwilling – to meet her gaze. “I’m not authorized to tell you.”
“What do you mean, ‘not authorized’?” Outrage flooded through her. “We’re both initiates of the Second Circle!” Like most Warrens, Sedona kept secrets. But there was only one level higher than hers – and she knew Cynthia wasn’t a member.
“For now,” the other Hare mumbled. “Just to warn you, your clearance may be under review.”
Because of Griffin? Did her Witch Queen truly think that her Mate compromised her? That simply being a Chimera’s lover meant she might betray her Warren?
Furious and indignant, she stewed over the rank, vicious unfairness of that.
Which was what Cynthia wanted. Because – lost in dark brooding – Maddie didn’t notice the trap until it was sprung.
The car stopped. Not in front of some remote cabin. By another car. A sleek black SUV lightly dusted with desert sand.
This was no Navajo medicine man… Maddie’s eyes widened as Cynthia took the car keys and steppe
d outside.
Four people emerged from the SUV. Two gunmen in full body armor began to scan the land around them. Next, a gaunt woman staggered out. A scrawny, emaciated Hare crept after her. Pus circled the creature’s eyes and a steady stream of mucus dribbled from its nose. A Shifter’s spirit mirrored the state of their soul – which meant this lady was seriously messed up.
What shocked her the most, though, was the fourth man.
On the surface he was nothing special. Slender, with a delicate, almost feminine beauty. Long blonde bangs trailed down across one eye. His elegant tan suit and imperious gaze announced, plainly, that he was in charge. Yet nothing stood out about him…
Except his Shifter spirit, a large brown Hare that stood on its hind legs with a boldness uncommon in that Kind.
A male Hare!
Among Hares, the Shifter gift tended to skip boys. Male Witches were rare – though not unheard of.
This one, however, wasn’t very good. Maddie could tell just by looking at him. His blonde hair was the first warning. Gifted Witches’ hair turned a brilliant, startling red. Plus he had blue eyes. When her full power came on a Hare, her eyes changed. Once became blue, the other green. Between hair and eyes, a Witch couldn’t hide what she was.
Unless that Witch was incompetent. Like this guy.
Maddie licked her lips, grown suddenly dry. “Cynthia? What’s going on?”
Her ‘sister’ Witch didn’t answer. Not that she needed to. Maddie recognized the Fangs of Apophis when she saw them. One of the gunmen opened her door and waved her out. Maddie obeyed. The car wouldn’t offer any protection if they chose to shoot her.
Hare-Guy didn’t seem happy to see her. “Ms. Mason, you didn’t warn me that you were bringing company.”
“She’s important. Trust me, you want her.”
Wow. Two kidnappings in one week. I’m cursed.
“Then introduce us, please.”
Startled by that demand, Cynthia stumbled through some awkward pleasantries. “Maddie Hunter, this is Randall Baxter. Mr. Baxter, this is Maddie Hunter from the Sedona Warren.”