To Tame A Wild Heart: A Zyne Witch Urban Fantasy Romance (Zyne Legacy Romance Book 1)

by Gwen Mitchell

  A crush of wings erupted from all around them.

  Audrey dropped the pitchfork and fell back against the stone wall with a hand pressed to her thundering heart.

  Hundreds of black birds surged through the open windows of the mews and streamed into the sky in a tight formation. The flock curved through the air, turned back, and swirled around Corvin like a giant tentacle, following the pattern of the funnel of wind he’d created.

  Though she couldn’t see him anymore, his laughter, charged with power and filled with pure joy, was what finally stole her breath.

  He spun, and the birds followed him as if choreographed. His arms swung toward the woods, and the funnel of black beating wings surged in that direction, leaving him standing there, watching them as they filtered into the trees that still swayed softly.

  Wow.

  “That was…” She cleared her throat and tried to calm the pounding in her chest. Her feet still thrummed from the magic lapping at her from the earth. Her mouth was dry from hanging open, and her cheeks felt flushed. “Impressive.”

  Corvin’s answering smile was unguarded and the most joyful she’d ever seen. It did nothing to help her find steady footing. It made her long to see that heat in his eyes again, but they were cool and dark—darker, as his power settled. He walked toward her, his stare never leaving her face.

  She felt a caress of cool wind against her heated cheek and shivered. “I mean, it’s not a fireball, but it’s a pretty cool trick.”

  He stepped close enough that she could smell the sweat on his skin mixed with the loamy scent of earth and the crisp freshness of the wind. She held her breath as he leaned toward her… and reached past her to grab the pitchfork where she’d dropped it. “Perhaps next time I’ll call down some lightning. For effect. Would that satisfy?”

  Hardly, she thought as a surge of heat ran up and down her body. She swallowed hard and gathered her wits enough to glare at him. Was he just toying with her? Did he realize the effect he had? Couldn’t he feel it? “What do I do when I’m finished here?”

  He straightened, and the fluidity of his movements disappeared as he glanced away. “I have nothing else for you to do today. You can take the rest of the afternoon for yourself.”

  Without another look or word, he walked away.

  So, definitely a figment of my imagination.

  An hour later, she’d decided maybe Corvin actually hated her. Of all the jobs she’d been given, this was by far the worst. Shoveling pile after pile of moldy straw and bird poop.

  Yuck.

  She had three splinters, and her back ached. Her pride was stung worse. She’d spent the hour berating herself for her traitorous libido and cataloging every one of Corvin’s flaws she could think of. Why did she let him get her so riled up? He was not her type at all—she liked them pretty and dumb—and she … well, did Corvin even have a type? He seemed to pretty much live like a monk. Maybe that was the appeal. She was a sucker for a challenge, and so far, he seemed immune to all her charms.

  Or maybe he doesn’t handle damaged goods.

  She ignored the tightness in her chest at that thought as she spread the last of the fresh straw around the door and backed out of the mews. Her recon mission had stalled out, which was a problem, because Plan B wasn’t looking super promising anymore. She could barely keep Corvin’s attention long enough to hold a conversation, and she wasn’t looking forward to throwing any more flirt down just to get ghosted.

  She rinsed her hands at the well and turned toward the fortress. She hadn’t seen how deep and slick the mud was, and she skidded into a pile of it, scraping her elbow on the stones of the well on the way down.

  “Ow.” She swore under her breath as she climbed to her feet and dusted the biggest clumps of mud from her rear.

  Great.

  She only had three sets of clothes. Now she would have to do laundry today or wear sweaty, stinky clothes for her work out later. Marjorie held an optional sparring workshop after dinner every night, and it was Audrey’s favorite part of the day—the one thing she looked forward to. Not only did she get to stretch her powers, practice using them in different ways, and shove around guys nearly twice her size, but it was the one place she felt respected. Admired, even. She wasn’t the most trained or disciplined fighter in her class, but she was the most experienced and the most ruthless. No one had taken her down yet.

  Most of her classmates had gotten the message not to screw with her. She was getting attention from a couple of the guys too. She had unspoken invitations to climb into their beds any time. It’s not that she wasn’t tempted. She hadn’t felt a man she lusted for beneath her in… a long time. She was the horniest she could ever remember feeling—it had to be being well-fed and rested—but there was only one man she was interested in, and he wanted nothing to do with her.

  She kicked off her tennis shoes at the bottom of the tower stairs and climbed the first two stories holding her pant legs up off the floor. She paused by the window past the mews to listen for Corvin, whom she often found having seemingly one-sided conversations with Smoke that were nothing short of hilarious, like listening to someone talk in their sleep. She’d seen him blush the last time, when she’d burst in on them and Smoke had chortled his crow laugh along with her, as if he’d been in on the joke.

  She didn’t hear anything this time. The living room and kitchen were empty.

  Must be on one of his walkabouts.

  Corvin liked to disappear into the woods for hours at a time. She’d tried to follow him once, but couldn’t stay close enough to him to keep her energy from draining away. The problem was that where he went, the forest just swallowed him up. Plants moved out of his way to make a path and closed behind him. She’d lost him and had barely made it back to the tower before passing out.

  He’d found her upon his return and said nothing, but she knew he’d assumed she’d tried to run away while he was gone. She’d wanted to explain, to change the cold, flinty look in his eyes to that warm banked fire. But then she’d been pissed at him for making her care what he thought at all. She’d rolled over, turning her back to him, and said, “Can’t blame me for trying.”

  A rustling from the cage in the alcove drew Audrey’s attention as she crossed to the bedroom. Though a dog crate would no longer contain her, Corvin still kept the injured eagle covered all the time. Audrey cringed for her, knowing how frustrating it was to be kept in a windowless cell. As if the bird felt her sympathy from across the room, it gave an urgent and heartrending call that left a bitter taste in the back of Audrey’s throat.

  “You know what? Screw it. He can get mad at me if he wants.”

  At least that would be something other than indifference.

  She crossed the room and gently drew back the edge of the sheet covering the cage. She expected the eagle to be startled upon seeing her, but instead it just seemed thankful as it quietly scanned the room, analyzing everything within eyeline. It twisted its head to look behind itself and ruffled its feathers, which she’d learned was sort of bird-speak for “We’re cool.”

  “You’re welcome. No guarantees he won’t cover you back up though.”

  She peeled off her mucky pants on the way to the bedroom and slipped through the half-open door. She froze when a cloud of steam scented with the herbal oils from Corvin’s bathroom filled her lungs. Then she heard the spray of the shower, and the intermittent splashing of water on the stone tiles—the unmistakable sound of a body moving under falling water.

  Her brain went numb, refusing to process anything else but a looping mental image of Corvin’s tightly muscled form buck-nekkid and wet.

  She blinked, cursed under her breath, and tossed her pants into the pile of dirty clothes in the corner. She’d settle for sweaty workout pants. She yanked them on and pulled on one of her extra shoes as quietly as possible.

  Then she heard him moan. The sound shuddered through her and weighed on something low in her stomach. She froze, her heartbeat kicking up. As
she bent to step into her other shoe, he moaned again, longer. Her face heated as she tiptoed to the door.

  “Audrey,” Corvin’s deep voice called.

  She cringed, thinking he must have heard her, but another breathy moan followed her name. She went ramrod straight, and the tiny hairs all along her spine stood on end and hummed.

  “Ah, Gods.”

  Ah, Gods? A fire had started in the pit of her belly.

  He can’t be…is he?

  She peeked around the corner.

  From the other side of the doorway, hidden in the shadows, she caught a glimpse of Corvin braced against the wall with one forearm, stroking himself as water sluiced down the rippling muscles of his back like a stream over river rocks. His beautifully defined ass clenched as he thrust into his hand.

  Her heart hammered in her chest, a hollow thump that sent ripples of heat radiating to her nipples.

  He is.

  “Oh, yeah, baby.”

  Baby? She held her breath, too entranced to leave. Torn. She was afraid of being caught, while longing for that very thing…so that she could be a part of what she was witnessing.

  Corvin…

  With every agonizing second as he strived for his own pleasure, her desire built. Her nipples tightened painfully, and adrenaline spiked her blood, pounding in her ears like an ocean tide. Through the billows of steam, shadows played over his tall, lithe form. She yearned to trace every ridge and groove, to dig her nails into his flesh as he pounded into her.

  She wanted him. So bad. What if she just took off her clothes and walked up to him? Surely he couldn’t turn her away now.

  “Gods, Audrey!” he shouted as he came.

  She couldn’t swallow. Her heart was in her throat, and her internal muscles were throbbing with a hot ache.

  At that moment, Corvin turned to face her, and her breath hitched at the sight of what she’d just been picturing. Raw and flushed and in the flesh. She must have made some small movement or sound because his eyes opened and fixed on her, squinting through the steam and shadows that barely concealed her.

  A long, drawn-out moment stretched before her as she decided whether to bolt, knowing she was busted. She could spare some semblance of her pride by never acknowledging that this had ever happened.

  Or.

  She stepped forward from the shadows and leaned one shoulder against the doorway. Her cheeks were probably a furious shade of pink and her eyes sparkling with desire, but there was no sense in hiding it. All the better, because this was a challenge.

  He’d made her think this whole time that he wasn’t interested.

  The power pendulum had just swung back again. Corvin wanted her too. He’d shouted her name as he’d gotten himself off! Even now, he was growing aroused again standing naked before her. His impressive cock twitched when she gave it an appreciative—okay, maybe a little covetous—glance.

  Butterflies were doing a full Cirque du Soleil in her stomach, she gave him a teasing smile. “I didn’t mean to walk in on you, but then I figured tit for tat. You’ve already seen me naked, remember?”

  He swallowed hard but stood there without an ounce of self-consciousness, shoulders back, head held high. The posture practically forced her eyes to follow the beautiful lines of his physique and the dark happy trail down from his broad chest and flexed abs to the evidence that he remembered the sight quite well.

  “Maybe that’s what you were thinking about?” She licked her lips, and a thrill stole through her when his fists and jaw clenched and that fire in his eyes jumped to life. She felt the heat of it from across the room, like flames tickling every inch of her exposed skin.

  “Audrey.” His voice was rough and low.

  A tingle raced up her spine. She would never be able to hear him say her name again without flashing back to that moment. She dropped her gaze to the floor, unable to face the heat anymore. Her whole face was burning, and her panties were drenched. What she was doing felt very much like teasing a chained tiger. Unfortunately, the excitement of that only turned her on more. She could feel his eyes on her but couldn’t look up, afraid he would see the sheer want on her face.

  But oh, how she wanted. She kept forgetting to breathe as a million ways he could satisfy that ache raced through her mind.

  What if she just said, Take me, Corvin. Would he? Or would he find a way to push her away again?

  He crossed the small room toward her, and more of that sweet-scented oil filled her nostrils as he reached past her for a towel off the shelf and wrapped it around his hips. She watched his hands as they lifted to drag his fingers through his wet hair.

  She blinked herself out of a daze and turned to leave.

  He grabbed hold of her wrist. “You’re not going anywhere until we settle this.”

  “Oh,” she barked out a laugh, “it’s settled. You want me. That’s obvious.”

  She peeked at him from under her lashes, and her eyes went wide when he rushed her, thrusting her against the stone wall at her back. Into the shadows, where she had just watched him come. Saying her name.

  Though she normally had great defensive reflexes, her body went pliant, melding to the hard planes of his. His hand slid up her thigh and hitched it over his hip. She could feel the swell of his arousal press against her through the damp towel.

  Corvin caged her with his other arm and held her like that, staring down at her face as the wet tendrils of his hair tickled her cheeks.

  “I want you.” His knuckles brushed against her nipple, which was so hard, she felt an arc of current jump between them at the touch. “And you want me.”

  He waited, staring at her face, daring her to deny it.

  She said nothing, just tried to calm her hectic breathing and control the urge to rub against him like a cat in heat. She felt completely out of control of her own body. She’d never had someone make her feel so weak with desire. She was adrift in a sea of it, and he knew it—probably felt it. He’d probably known this whole time.

  Yet she’d had to find out how he felt about her by resorting to being a Peeping Tom.

  Shame churned the currents of her desire, twisting them into a storm of regret and rage.

  As if he sensed the change in her mood, he relaxed and backed away from her. “But what we want is irrelevant. I cannot fail in my duties as your mentor. Too much is at stake.”

  Her body flashed hot and cold at his abrupt shift. She locked her jaw and fixed a defiant look on him. “No fraternizing with the students? That’s really your excuse?”

  He shook his head and sat on the edge of the bed. “Perhaps I just know you’ll run at the first opportunity. You’ve made it clear you don’t want to be here and that you’ll do anything to get away, including seducing me.”

  She glared at him. “Maybe I could quell my instinct to escape if I wasn’t being held captive against my will and totally controlled, with my powers being dangled in front of me like a treat for performing tricks.”

  Corvin’s brow furrowed. “It wouldn’t feel that way if you chose to look at this as an opportunity to learn about your people and heritage. If you embraced the Legacy—”

  “You should hear yourself. You sound like a brainwashed zealot. The Legacy. Read my lips: I don’t care about your stupid Legacy. I don’t care who you people are or where you came from. I am not one of you. I make my own way, and I just want to get the fuck out of here and be left the fuck alone.”

  “Do you really?” That flame danced in his eyes, hypnotizing her like a moth to a lantern. She was so hungry for what it offered. Warmth. Light. Connection. Things she’d convinced herself were just life’s mirages, and here he was taunting her with them again. Using her feelings against her.

  Fury bubbled up in her chest. “Like you’re one to talk! You’re practically a hermit. Your best friend is a bird! Everyone is either afraid of you or feels sorry for you. Why do you have to hide behind the Synod? It’s not your duty as my mentor that’s keeping you from taking what you want. You’re
just afraid.”

  He crossed the room in two strides and wrapped her in his arms, leaning her back gently, about to kiss her. She relaxed into his embrace and her eyelids fluttered closed.

  “I think that’s the pot calling the kettle black. I’m not afraid of taking what I want.” His warm mouth sealed over her neck where it met her shoulder, and he trailed delicate kisses up the more sensitive flesh beneath her ear. Then he pulled away again, his stubble trailing over her sensitized skin as he let her slide out of his arms. “I’m afraid of wanting something I can never have. I would want more than just your body, Audrey.”

  I don’t have anything else to give.

  She cleared her throat, swallowing the butterflies once again. This had spiraled out of control so quickly. All of her internal panic alarms were going off, yet none of her protective measures were kicking in. She felt open and exposed. It was hard not to run out of the room. She crossed her arms over her chest and made her voice sound bored. “You’re right. I’m not really into that heavy shit. Sounds intense. Maybe I should move into the dormitory and let you have your privacy.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “If that’s how you feel. Here.” He grabbed his staff from where it rested against the wall and unwrapped a small leather pouch tied to it. He tossed the pouch at Audrey. “You can go anywhere on the grounds with that.”

  She studied the tiny juju bag, turning it in her hand, then looked up at him. “What’s the catch?”

  That fire winked at her. “No catch. It’s your choice, but I would prefer that you stay here. With me.”

  She stared into his eyes as she tied the leather thong around her neck and tucked the pouch under her shirt, next to her mother’s moonstone. Several responses whirled through her head. She couldn’t say thank you for freedom that had been wrongfully taken in the first place. She couldn’t agree to stay, because she had no idea what he was asking. Not to mention that she was equal parts terrified and furious that he saw through her so easily. Despite the fact that a part of her wanted him more than anything, she’d decided sleeping with him was a very bad idea. He already cut through all her defenses, crossing that last line would be too risky.