Tales of the Golden Judge: 3-Book Bundle - Books 7-9

by Hart, Melissa F.

  “Maybe a little,” he said smugly. “However, you sound like you're in shock.”

  She thought about it, and she realized that she was thinking about it far harder than she should have to. Everything felt as if it were wrapped in cotton, and she nodded slowly.

  “There's been too much,” she agreed reluctantly. “I probably shouldn't be trusted to handle heavy machinery right now...”

  “Poor darling. All right. Hang on and I will see you as safe as I can as soon as I can, okay?”

  She nodded, because it was all she could do, and she rested safe in his arms as he flew toward the city.

  ***

  Benedict's flight took him over the city, and to avoid detection, he flew as high as he dared with Marcie in his arms. She had been so exhausted and stressed by the last few hours that her eyelids were drooping and it seemed like all that she could do was hold on to him.

  When he glanced down at her face, he felt a profound protective instinct come over him. What he had suspected the night before was only becoming more solid now. His heart called to hers, and he knew that while he lived, he needed to stay with her, to protect her and to cherish her. There was nothing else he could think about, but he knew that was not something he could deal with right now.

  He had come to Colossal City for a reason, and that reason had nearly killed him and Marcie. He remembered how it had struck so ferociously against the two men in the boat, and though he cared little enough for them, he remembered as well the otter people's stories of their missing family members. The thing that lived in the lake was something dark and terrifying, and it needed to be stopped.

  Benedict's eyes were better than any human's, and soon enough, he picked out the red brick mansion on the highest hill in the city. It was where the Colossal City superhero Archer Speedlight had directed him in their brief encounter earlier that day, and Benedict prayed that he could get the help he needed.

  The mansion was enormous, and on the roof was a garden. It was bare in the autumn cold, but there were beautiful mosaic paths and a small pool where beautiful goldfish swam. Benedict ignored the fish, though a keen part of his eagle mind was interested in their flickers through the water.

  He landed with ease on the roof, Marcie still cradled in his arms, and he quickly realized that he wasn't alone.

  There was a woman seated on one of the comfortable chairs by the pool, and when he landed, she set aside her e-reader and stood up. Standing she was tall, and her sharp green eyes took him in from head to toe, not missing a single thing.

  “So what are you doing here?” she asked, her voice not unfriendly, and he looked at her warily.

  “My name is Benedict Halfdansson,” he said. “I'm one of the judges of Harrispont, and I was told that I could seek sanctuary here.”

  “I don't know what half of what you said means,” the woman said pleasantly, “and if you don't tell me more than that, I am going to press my panic button and have you swarmed by policemen.”

  Benedict stepped back warily, looking around, and he felt that old anger well up in him.

  There was no love lost between him and humans, and even powerful ones with superhero abilities had never impressed him very much. Now he was here seeking aid, and all he could see was a woman who thought he was a threat.

  “Forgive me,” he said, his tone frosty. Despite it, he could feel his own energy flagging. It took effort to fly the way he had without his eagle form, and with Marcie in his arms, it was even harder. All he knew was that he could not let her go, that he could not let her down no matter how much he wanted to rest or what he needed to do.

  “I have been mistaken or perhaps Archer Speedlight was. We will be on our way.”

  He called the winds again, but they responded slowly to him, and he could feel the tension and the strain that started between his eyes and could travel down his entire body if he was not careful. He was pushing the edges of his endurance, and he knew that if he went much further, he was risking injury. Benedict looked down at Marcie's face, and he gritted his teeth. He knew he had to keep going, he had to...

  “Wait.”

  He turned around, and he saw her shrink back for a moment. He could imagine how cold his gaze must have been and how inhuman.

  “You mentioned Archer...”

  “Yes. He came to me this morning to tell me that... that I was welcome.”

  The woman's eyes narrowed, and she snorted. “Describe him to me.”

  “Muscular. Self-important. Liked to talk about himself.”

  “And what did he tell you?”

  “To make myself welcome at the red brick monstrosity on the hill.” Benedict's voice was clipped and sharp, and he didn't know what to do with himself. He needed to move, or he needed rest, and this woman was keeping him from both.

  “Okay, fine, I believe you. Come down.”

  Benedict hesitated, and her green eyes sharpened. He suddenly thought of the wild and solitary bobcat and lynx shapechangers he had known, of how their sharp gazes seemed to see everything.

  “If you don't do it for yourself, at least do it for her. She's not in great shape, is she?”

  As if on cue, Marcie stirred in his arms, and that more than anything else made him drop to the ground by the woman's side. His landing was rougher than it should have been, but Marcie was safe in his arms still, and that was all he cared about.

  Benedict's mind was whirling and exhausted, but he managed to fix his gaze on the woman who had invited him in. “Who are you?” he managed, and she smiled.

  “I'm Vicky Campbell, and I own half the house that you're standing on. Archer Speedlight's a man who will happily invite other people to houses that he does not own at all, but he's a good friend of mine. This is one of the headquarters of the Colossal City heroes.”

  “Bellaron, Lynxar, Archer Speedlight and...”

  “And Bryan Hillman. That would be me.”

  The voice was quiet and for a moment, Benedict could not tell where it came from. Then a slender man appeared beside him, smiling slightly, and if the were-eagle hadn't been exhausted, he would have been badly frightened. No one had sneaked up on him in years, and now this man had done it like it was nothing.

  “Welcome to Colossal City, stranger. Let's get you off your feet.”

  TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK NINE: An Eternal Love – Volume 9

  ***

  An Eternal Love

  ***

  Synopsis

  As Marcie's search for the monster that lives in the lake grows more determined, she comes closer to the truth that has been hidden in the forest for years. On her quest, she has come to realize her deep love for Benedict, the man who turns into a golden eagle and controls the powers of the wind, but she has also come to know his terrible distrust for humanity. Can she make him see the error of his ways, or will this stand between their love?

  ***

  Marcie knew she was dreaming, because in real life, she would have frozen in the water. Instead, she was naked except for a colorful blue and green skirt that floated around her waist. She knew that she had to get into the water, she had to go out into it, but she could not have said why.

  In her dream, the water was dark and the trees surrounding the lake were bare of leaves. The water was only cool however, and as she went deeper and deeper into the lake, she found that she had to swim.

  The lake was enormous, but she had always been a strong swimmer. At first, she thought it was her imagination when she felt something large and smooth brush her toes, but then it brushed her naked belly, and she stopped, treading water and looking around.

  She saw the bubbles rise up from the depths before the thing arose out of the water, then caught a glimpse of an enormous animal, of eyes that were shockingly golden and glowing in the night, and teeth, so many teeth!

  There was something about those teeth that nagged at her, and even as she tried to swim away, she knew that it was something she needed to think about.

  Remember, her brain trie
d to be telling her, but instead of being able to stay in her dream and do just that, she woke up instead. She sat up straight, and then she had to stare because she had no idea where she was.

  The place wasn't the dark cave where she had spent the night with the man who turned into a golden eagle and had saved her life from the thing in the lake. It wasn't even her cozy apartment, which was on campus in town.

  Instead, it was an enormous room her entire apartment could have fit into with room to spare. She rested in an amazingly soft bed underneath crisp clean sheets, and when she staggered to her feet, she realized that the bed was high enough that she needed to slide to the floor. The sky outside was a pearly pre-dawn gray, and she realized with a start she had slept the day and the night away. Marcie felt rested finally, and when she thought of how she had spent the past twenty-four hours, she now knew how miraculous that was.

  Two nights before, she had been searching for the lake monster in the forest, and the day before, she’d had a close and personal encounter with the lake monster itself. Through it all, the only person who had kept her safe was Benedict Halfdansson. He called himself a judge among the shapechangers who lived side by side and unnoticed among humans, and his control over the winds had carried both of them to safety.

  When she looked around the room, she saw his hunched form sitting on the padded window seat, and he was so still that she was worried before he shifted and turned. Marcie started to call to him, but then she realized that he was merely in a deep sleep.

  “Silly thing, why didn't you join me in bed?” she wondered.

  While he slept, she took the opportunity to come closer and to really look at him. In the graying dawn light, she could see that he was a tall and slender man with dark hair that had a surprising wave to it. If his eyes were open, she would be able to see how black they were, but with them closed, she could now see the long eyelashes that were long enough to brush his cheeks. He was beautiful for a man, proud and gorgeous as the golden eagle into which he transformed.

  Marcie shivered again when she remembered the heady terror and beauty of flight, and of how it had been fine until he deposited her in a tree. She blushed to think of how frightened she had been, but then she smiled remembering how patiently Benedict had treated her. He had coaxed her free of the tree, and then it had all been an exhausted blur as he flew her to safety.

  However, though she knew that she was safe, she still had no idea where she was, and that was a little distressing.

  She thought about waking Benedict up to ask, but from the lavender circles underneath his eyes, she could see how weary he was. Instead, she brushed a soft kiss over his brow, and though he stirred, he did not awaken.

  “Sleep well, love,” she whispered, and though she had never called him anything like that before, it felt so right that she had to smile.

  Of course such a beautiful room would have a bathroom attached, and when she stepped into it, she gasped with delight. It was enormous, and aside from the luxurious shower on its pedestal, there was also an enormous bathtub set in the floor. It was wonderfully deep with a seat around the edge that would hold most people submerged up to their chins. Marcie longed to get into it at once, but she remembered that she was fairly grimy after her nights in the woods.

  Instead, she stepped under the hot spray, letting it loosen her muscles and carry away the dirt and the mud that clung to her skin. Using the natural sponge that she found in the shower's small alcove, she used a foaming scrub to clean her skin until it shone. She smelled of nothing but the pine soap and the citrus shampoo now, and finally, she felt clean enough to enter the bath.

  The bathtub itself filled from three small but powerful jets, and in the space of a moment, she was settled into the steaming water, tilting her head back to rest against the side. She contemplated adding some of the bubble bath that was tucked into the basket nearby, but at the moment, all she wanted to do was enjoy the hot water.

  Marcie felt her eyes drift further and further shut, but it was with pleasure, not with weariness. She had always been a woman who healed fast, and even after her ordeals in the woods, it didn't take much more than a lot of sleep before she felt as if she was ready to be back on her feet.

  Still, though she was very clean, she lingered in the hot bath. The soak did her aching muscles good, and she felt a peace fall over her that she hadn't felt in what seemed like years.

  Marcie had no idea how long she had soaked when she became aware that she was not alone. Without any sense of alarm, her eyes drifted open and she found that sitting cross legged on the floor next to her head was Benedict himself.

  “You look lovely like that,” he murmured, and she noticed that his dark eyes were taking in everything from her damp hair to the blurry outline of her naked body under the water. In another place, and with another man, she might have been concerned about her less than perfect body, about her abundant curves and the scars that came with a lifetime of living, but with this man, she only grinned.

  “I believe you when you say that,” she said softly, and he rewarded her by bending over for a long and deep kiss.

  There was something spicy about the way he tasted, something lovely and intimate and male and utterly him. She ran her tongue over his lower lip, pulling back with a laugh when he nipped her tongue with his sharp white teeth.

  “Don't you want to kiss me?” she asked teasingly, and he laughed.

  “I want to do nothing more,” he murmured, leaning over to whisper in her ear. “I want to climb in with you, and I want to have you in the hot water. I want to make you feel amazing while I kiss you and while I finger your beautiful pussy, and I want to make sure that you don't get out of that bath until you've come at least twice, perhaps more.”

  Marcie pressed her legs together in anticipation, but her eyes never left his face. “I like the sound of that,” she murmured. “What are you going to let me do for you?”

  He drew back, looking a little nonplussed. “What do you mean?” he asked cautiously, and she laughed. With confidence, she reached up to run an indolent finger down his face. He leaned into it, and she could see how much he loved her touch, how much he loved her hands on his body.

  “I mean that I want to do something for you,” she murmured. “You make me feel good, you make me feel better than I ever thought I could feel, but that's not enough for me, you know?”

  He shook his head, and her smile turned sweet.

  “I care about you so much,” she said, realizing it was true even as she said it. “I care about you, and I want your pleasure. In fact, I think I am going to need to demand it.”

  “Demand it?” he asked, and though he still looked wary, now he looked intrigued as well.

  “Your pleasure, yes. I need it. Just as much as I want to orgasm all over you, I need to make sure that you are having just as good a time with me. Does that make sense?”

  He nodded, but she wasn't sure he really understood. Well, he would by the end of the morning, she could swear to that.

  “Take off those clothes and climb in with me,” she said, and there must have been a part of him that loved to listen to orders because he did it quickly and with a kind of efficiency that had him naked in seconds.

  He started to climb in, but Marcie held up a hand to stop him.

  “Let me see you,” she murmured, and he smiled, though there was a faint blush on his cheeks.

  “You have nothing to be ashamed of,” Marcie said as she regarded his lithe body. He was not nearly as broad as some men, but he had a presence that could have cowed lesser men to their knees. His body was muscled and firm, and she drank it in with something like lust crossed with reverence.

  “Do you even know how beautiful you are?” she muttered.

  “Do you?” he retorted, and then Marcie realized that he was looking at her body in the water even as she was looking at his. She fought an urge to cover up her body because there was no way that she was going to look more nervous than he was.

  �
��Hmm, quite a mouth you have on you,” she murmured, and then she patted the surface of the water with her hand.

  “Come in here with me,” she said. “I know that golden eagles hunt over water, but maybe this one will come and join me here.”

  With no reluctance at all, he slid into the water with her, coming to rest on the ledge next to her. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, but it was Marcie who initiated the kiss. It was long and deep and lovely, and she took her time with it. She couldn't imagine getting tired of kissing his mouth, not when it shaped so beautifully and closely to hers. She pressed her tongue between his lips and tasted him, and when he started to caress her breasts and belly under the water, she moaned right into his mouth, letting him catch it on his tongue, letting him taste her pleasure.

  There was just enough space on the ledge where she could straddle Benedict's hips with one knee placed on either side of his hips. She could feel the tantalizing rub of his cock on her slit, and delicately and lightly, she rode it. She didn't do anything more than move her body over his, but there was still an immense amount of pleasure in it. She could feel that now-familiar tightening in her belly, the one that told her that she wanted him and that she could have him, and she leaned down to kiss him more.

  As she did so, his hands drifted up and down her body, not pawing or squeezing, but simply stroking with a great deal of gentleness and care. His hands were large, and she shivered pleasantly to feel how delicately he touched her. His touch ghosted from her shoulders, down her back to the curves of her hips, and then it drifted back again. When his hands came down again, he squeezed her buttocks gently, making her rock against him with a moan.

  “I love the way you touch me,” she whispered, and his answering chuckle was soft.

  There was no hurry to it, nothing hasty or rushed. Instead, in the dim morning light, they simply explored each other, learning each others’ bodies and what felt good and what felt even better than that.