by Chant, Zoe
“Yeah, I think you might be right about that,” she laughed. “Though I’d say both of us are wearing way too many clothes. Someone should do something about that.”
“Someone, you say.” Callan grinned at her – and then her shirt had been whipped up over her head, and Ella found herself, laughing, on her back on the bed, Callan’s fingers making short work of the buttons of her pants, before pulling them down over her thighs.
He kissed her again, his bare chest pressing against her breasts, his strong arms holding him steady above her. Ella spread her legs, arching up, wanting to feel all of him against her.
“Why – are you – still – wearing – pants?” she asked, getting the words out between kisses, as her hands groped around for his fly.
Callan’s response was a small laugh, and then he knelt up on the bed above her. Ella momentarily regretted the loss of contact, but only until she saw his hands working open his jeans and then pushing them down his muscular thighs, and taking his underpants with them.
Her mouth went dry as he was revealed to her – thick and hard and straining. Ella knew she was staring, but she couldn’t help it. The idea that he was this hard for her was utterly intoxicating.
She swallowed.
“Callan, please –”
She didn’t need to ask twice.
He kissed her, pressing his body against hers. He was massive on top of her, pressing her into the bed, but his movements were tender and careful. Ella threw her head back, eyes closing as his mouth moved down her body, over her throat, her collarbone, pushing the fabric of her bra aside to kiss her breasts.
Oh God.
Ella arched up, hands pressing against the back of his head as he moved down, kissing his way over her stomach, teeth grazing gently against her hip. Ella could feel herself throbbing with need, lifting herself off the bed as his hands slid her underwear down.
“Callan.”
She could hear how strangled her voice sounded, but she didn’t care at all. She squirmed as he kissed her inner thighs, tongue moving over her, his hands parting them.
She raised her head to look at him, panting, and saw him gazing up at her, eyes dark and warm.
“Just relax, Ella. Lie back.”
Ella did as she was told, shivering at the rough edge of desire she heard in his voice. She closed her eyes.
His hands slid beneath her, lifting her as if she weighed nothing at all… and then his mouth was on her, his tongue sliding over the slickness between her legs.
Ella cried out, squirming up on the bed, fingers curling through his thick dark hair. He was gentle, but every move he made drew a cry from her lips as darts of ecstasy shot through her body. It was so intense that Ella tried to wiggle away, but Callan’s hands on her were firm.
Part of her wanted to beg him to speed up, to let her crash over the edge of her own pleasure, but everything he was doing was so good that Ella never wanted it to end. She could feel every slide of his lips and tongue against her, drawing pleasure from her slowly and thoroughly.
“Callan – Callan, please –”
Ella had never felt anything like this before – the build of her climax in her belly, the heat rushing through her veins. Her back arched, toes curling, rocking against him.
She felt senseless with bliss by the time she felt his finger pressing against her entrance. She was so wet that it slid into her easily, followed quickly by a second. Ella moaned, her head pressing back against the pillow as Callan worked his fingers in and out, sending her closer and closer to the edge.
She could have groaned when he withdrew them, missing the sensation of being filled. Opening her eyes, she looked down at him, desire thumping in her heart. He was looking at her quietly, her wetness still visible on his lips.
“Now, Ella?”
“If you don’t, I think I’ll go crazy,” she replied.
He came back to lie over her again, mouth on hers, his muscular arms keeping him balanced above her. Ella whimpered as she felt his thick hardness against her entrance, parting her legs even further around him, wanting him more desperately than she’d ever wanted anything before in her life.
They gasped together as he began to slide inside her, slowly and steadily, as if he wanted to savor every moment of the sensation.
“Ella –” His voice rasped, cracking with desire when he finally lay fully inside her, sheathed entirely in her body.
Ella shuddered at the sound of his voice, at the feeling of being so completely filled to perfection.
“Please,” she whispered again, unsure how much more she could take of this. “Please, move –”
Callan’s first thrust inside her made her cry out, her fingernails digging into the hard, strong muscles of his shoulders. Pleasure spiraled through her, made her shudder and gasp and clench around him.
But even more than the physical sensations, Ella could feel that warm golden glow around her heart growing warmer and more intense with every passing second.
And somehow, she could feel the answering glow from Callan’s own heart, as if there was a ribbon of light connecting them, pulling them together. Almost as if their hearts were twining together, becoming one.
Ella had never been one for flowery metaphors or overly romantic displays – but this was all she could think as Callan thrust deep inside her, finding parts of her that had never been touched before. Not only of her body, but her soul.
She knew she had never been this open to anyone before – this vulnerable. But at this moment, she didn’t care. All she wanted was to be with him. To be his.
And for him to be mine.
Callan angled his hips and brushed against her clit with his next thrust, and Ella shrieked into his mouth, a bliss beyond anything she’d ever felt before rushing through her. She felt herself tumble over the edge of her climax in a rush, her body taut and desperate, wave after wave of pleasure crashing over her.
She could feel him shuddering above her with his own climax, pulsing within her, riding the cresting ecstasy with her. His mouth was on hers, their tongues sliding together as they slowly came down, bodies still joined.
When her final shudder had at last subsided, he looked down at her, eyes wide.
“Wow. Ella. That was…”
She shook her head, still breathless. “Yeah.”
There were no words for what that was.
She turned to gaze at him as he rolled away from her, licking her lips. He raised his hand, brushing her sweaty hair behind her ear.
“Maybe we should sleep. Who knows what tomorrow will throw at us.”
She nodded – and to be honest, she could already feel herself drifting off. Her eyes slid shut as Callan’s arms encircled her, drawing her against his chest.
And then, she was fast asleep.
Chapter 12
Callan slowly drifted back into wakefulness.
Within him, his diprotodon felt more peaceful and calm than it had in days. It wasn’t badgering or needling him, complaining or carping. Instead, it seemed to be basking in the warm glow around his heart just as much as Callan himself was.
My mate.
Callan looked over at Ella’s peacefully sleeping face. He couldn’t resist the urge to lean over and gently kiss her forehead, closing his eyes and breathing in her scent as he did, letting it fill his chest.
Mine. Ours.
The diprotodon raised its head, growling, but it was in contentment. It was finally appeased. Callan had told Ella that she was his mate – and she had accepted their bond.
The golden glow surged through his veins at the thought, along with a pulse of heat at the memory of last night. Callan had known he had to tell Ella about what they were to each other, but after everything she’d been through recently, he hadn’t known how she might react.
She is our mate. You should have had more faith in her. Do you think our mate is weak? That she cannot handle the truth?
Callan had to admit that the diprotodon had a point there. Weak was t
he last thing he thought of Ella as. But at the same time, he realized that such a thing as a mated bond was difficult for a human to understand, and that it might be overwhelming at first. The idea that it was an unbreakable bond that lasted forever was something he’d been brought up with. But it was a strange idea for most humans.
Especially when it came to someone as independent as Ella.
But she knows we would never restrict her or make demands on her, the diprotodon said as Callan rose with some reluctance, heading for the bathroom. A mated bond means support and love, not limitations.
Of course, Callan told it as he turned on the shower. He was sad at having to wash Ella’s scent from his body, but he knew it had to be done. They had a lot of work to do yet in unraveling the mystery in front of them. But still, a life-long bond could be a little daunting, couldn’t it?
His diprotodon seemed confused by that idea, and retreated into somewhat indignant silence. Callan supposed he understood – to the diprotodon, these things seemed very simple, black and white issues. How it saw things didn’t always fit in with complicated realities.
The hot water of the shower hit his shoulders, easing out the last remaining aches and pains left over from all the fighting and running he’d done yesterday. He felt a pulse of heat in his groin as he imagined Ella in the shower with him, the water running slickly over her skin, trickling between her breasts and down her thighs… but he quickly shoved the image from his mind.
If he let himself start thinking about that, they wouldn’t leave this room for the next week at least. Besides, she’d had a long couple of days, and they’d probably have another one today, so he wanted to let her snatch as much sleep as she could.
Still, she was awake and sitting up in the bed, a sheet wrapped loosely over her breasts, when he emerged from the bathroom, a towel around his hips.
Ella blinked at him, her eyes going wide.
“Well, I could definitely get used to this,” she said after a moment of unabashed staring.
Callan laughed lightly, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her, appreciating the way the movement shifted the sheet that was already just barely covering her.
“Me too, I reckon.”
He leaned in to kiss her, unable to resist. Her mouth was soft and warm and welcoming, and he raised a hand to cup her face, drawing her closer to him.
But he knew he couldn’t get caught up in this right now. They had work to do. With extreme reluctance he pulled back, gazing into her eyes.
“As much as I’d rather just stay here with you, the code cracking team should be here soon, if they’re not already,” he said. “You can stay here if you want to, but somehow I’m pretty sure you’ll want to know what’s going on.”
Ella nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know if I’ll be able to be any help, but it’s my life that’s getting all tangled up by this. In more ways than one.”
“I’m sure you’ll have plenty more questions about… well, us, too,” Callan said. “And I’m happy to answer them, if I can.”
“Maybe later,” Ella said, after a thoughtful pause. “There’s so much going on. I can only fit so much in my brain at a time. Though I do want to understand more about the… the mated bond.”
“Of course. And if you like, I’m pretty sure Myrtle’d be able to answer some questions for you too. She’s been through this as well.”
Ella eyes flickered up to his. “Oh – I had wondered about that. She’s not a shifter then?”
“No. She’s human – she and Hector met a few months ago. So from that perspective, she’d be much better at answering some questions than I would be.”
“And – sorry if this is a rude question – is Ruby their, uh… their child?”
“She is, but she’s adopted,” Callan said. “Alicorns are supposed to be extinct – but they recovered her egg after some bikies were trying to sell it to Hargreaves. She bonded to them after she hatched, and now they’re inseparable. Hector’s on paternity leave right now to help her get settled. Raising an alicorn isn’t easy.”
“Yeah, I got that,” Ella laughed. “She seems like a handful. A cute one, though.”
“She loves meeting new people, and she took to you right away,” Callan said. “Obviously a girl wise beyond her years.”
Ella laughed again. “Well. I suppose I should shower.” Her stomach rumbled, and she looked up at him, faintly embarrassed. “And get something to eat. And, uh, I don’t suppose there’s any spare clothes around, are there?”
“Should be some in the drawers,” Callan said. “And speaking of, I better grab some too.”
“That’s a pity,” Ella said, eyes ranging over his body. “But I guess I better let you get decent.”
Callan had to avert his eyes as Ella slid out from under the covers, making her naked way to the bathroom.
There’d be time for that later, he told himself. Plenty of time.
* * *
When they arrived dressed and refreshed back at the main house, the smell of breakfast was in the air. Evelyn, having gotten up at the crack of dawn, was already out in the paddocks, but Hector, Myrtle and Ruby were taking their time to relax, sitting around the table, Myrtle and Hector with cups of coffee, and Ruby in front of her favorite treat: pureed apples.
“Nice to see you two at last,” Hector said, looking up from his newspaper – and then he blinked, his eyes moving between the two of them, a small frown crossing his face.
Callan realized suddenly that now that they’d sealed their bond, Hector, like all other shifters, would be able to sense the connection that he and Ella shared.
He swallowed.
He’d told Hector that Ella had come with him because she’d needed protection, but he hadn’t mentioned her being his mate – he was a little old-fashioned perhaps in the idea that he didn’t want to tell anyone before he’d had a chance to discuss it with Ella herself.
Callan had been the first person Hector had told when he’d realized that Myrtle was his mate, but that had been the result of Callan realizing something was going on and pestering him about it – and because Hector, being Hector, had managed to make a terrible first impression on Myrtle and needed advice.
The temptation to talk with Hector about it yesterday had been strong, but Callan had resisted it, and in some ways he felt glad that he had. As much as he trusted and loved Hector, Ella had been the person he’d most been thinking of.
“Sleep well?” Myrtle asked, looking up from the stack of paper in front of her. Being human, she couldn’t sense the mated bond, but Callan realized immediately that she must be aware of something, considering the small smirk that crossed her face.
“I… uh, yeah,” he managed to get out eventually. “Great, thanks.”
“That’s great. Good to hear.” Myrtle’s tone was sweet, but there was still something vaguely… smug about her words. “You want some breakfast?”
“I’ll get it,” Hector said hurriedly. “It’s been reheating for long enough, hasn’t it? I’m so hungry I could eat a horse and chase the jockey.” His eyes flashed to Ella. “Uh. That’s a joke, by the way. I don’t eat either horses or jockeys.”
“I’m sure Ella knows that, Hec,” Myrtle said. “And yes, if you’re offering, breakfast would be great.”
“Callan, you know your way ’round the kitchen here, don’t you?” Hector asked, rising. “How about you come and give me a hand? Give Myrtle and Ella a little time to talk, yeah?”
Hector’s ploy might not have been subtle, but Callan decided to give him points for trying. He turned to Ella, giving her arm a quick squeeze. She nodded to him, a small, slightly mystified expression on her face, and Callan followed Hector out to the kitchen where breakfast was re-heating in the oven.
“So, Callan,” Hector said, the moment they were even slightly out of earshot. “Anything you want to tell me?”
“I’m sorry,” Callan said, sincerely. “I wanted to – believe me, I really did. But I hadn’t had the chance to talk to
Ella about it, and I thought she should be the first to know.”
“No, that’s fair enough.” Hector shot him a grin as he reached for a pair of oven mitts. “I just wasn’t expecting it. So when you walked in… well. That’s quite the thing to spring on a bloke before breakfast.”
“I’d forgotten you’d be able to sense it,” Callan admitted. “I was going to tell you. You and Myrtle both.”
Hector shook his head as he opened the oven, reaching inside. “No worries – forget about it. I’m just happy for you – it’s a hell of a thing to find your mate. Believe me. It’s… well, you know me, I don’t go in for all that fancy stuff. So I’ll just say it knocks your socks off and leave it at that.”
“Yeah,” Callan said, smiling. “Yeah, I guess that pretty much covers it.”
Breakfast was always huge on the Richardsons’ farm, and hardly ever traditional – Callan knew they always ate a huge amount before heading out into the fields, and today it seemed Evelyn had felt like leftover shepherd’s pie, with a side of toast.
Callan’s stomach rumbled just looking at the pie – and the waft of its rich aroma made his mouth water as Hector carried it back to the dining room. Ella and Myrtle looked up as they came in, Ella’s eyes going wide.
“Would you prefer just some toast and coffee? There’s eggs, too,” Myrtle asked her, as Hector placed the pie in the middle of the table.
“No way – I’m starving,” Ella said, eyeing the steaming pie with obvious hunger. “And that looks and smells great.”
“Mee-ehh!”
Ruby trotted across the table, taking two great sniffs, before apparently deciding that the pie was not to her delicate tastes, turning her nose up at it and going back to her apple puree.
“I suppose you can’t please everybody,” Myrtle said, running her fingers gently through Ruby’s mane.
Callan could see Ella’s eyes following Ruby’s movements as she preened and pranced joyously under her mother’s hands. Just like everyone else, she was clearly enchanted by Ruby – and, he supposed, it wasn’t every day you saw an alicorn flitting around the room.