by Desiree Holt
I nodded. He was right, she was demanding tonight, a sign of her I had never seen before. I liked it, liked having her with me.
“Words, tala, use your words. I would never forgive myself if you regretted any part of tonight.” His eyes showed lust, yet his voice showed patience. Patience was not something I had.
“Then you better take me now, for if you aren’t inside me soon, I will regret it.” My voice was deeper than normal, my lust filling the room.
He took my lips as he entered me in one strong glorious stroke. He filled me completely, in a way I had never fathomed possible. James attempted slow. I could feel him holding back, and that was just not working for me. I needed him all.
“More,” I cried out and he delivered. He was a man of his word, hard and fast were on the schedule and it was perfection. I felt myself cresting quicker than I ever had, even with my favorite bullet.
It was true what they said about mates. The physical connection was more than lust, it was actually becoming one. I had always called bullshit on that, but in that moment I knew it to be true. Just as I was about to shatter at the seams, my canines elongated of their own accord. My wolf was staking her claim, and as we sunk into his shoulder and he into mine, I came so powerfully I was sure I was going to black out.
As I came back to reality, both of us still breathless and very much connected, I felt a peace like I had never known before. I didn’t know if it was the mating, or if it was the fact that my wolf and I were one for the first time ever, or if it was simply the afterglow of a mind blowing orgasm. But whatever it was, was perfect and I wanted to bask in the glory of the moment.
We lay there silently until we both caught our breaths, when he rolled off of me and pulled me with him so we were facing each other.
“Words …” I touched the spot where I claimed him as my own. “I have none. It was so …”
“Perfect,” he finished my sentence as he too trailed the claiming mark he had just created.
“Yes, that.” Such a simple word. A word we used so frequently in society, and up until that moment I hadn’t realized how much I misused the word. Every time before it had been a lie. This, right here, what we shared, was perfection.
“My lion wants out. Come and play, little tala.” He sat up, pulling me with him. I had never been completely naked with a man after sex before. I always hid under the sheet. But with him, I didn’t even notice until I felt a small chill. Fate had done me well.
James took my hand as he rose, facing what I now noticed to be double glass doors off the back of the bedroom.
“But what if I can’t?”
“You feel it, the change. She is one with you now. Come and play.” He was like my own private cheer squad. He was right about one thing: I did feel the change. Or at least a change.
“I’m scared.” Now standing, I was welcomed into his waiting embrace and my fear slowly began to dissipate.
“I’ll make you a deal. You come and play, and when we get back, I’ll pay these their due respect.” Taking a slight step back, James reached up and tweaked my nipples. “Before I make you come with my mouth at least two times.”
“Two times?” I tried to quirk my eyebrow to show humor, but probably looked more like those silly people who make faces at newborns.
“I would promise three, but I have a feeling I will need to be inside you before that happens.” His words had me ready to go again, which was probably his plan: get mate all worked up so she agrees to anything with the promise of multiple orgasms.
“I have condoms.” My vision of my face looking like a weirdo in the nursery brought the reality of my situation back in full force. I was mated, and for the first time ever, it was possible for me to have babies.
“What brought that on?” His tone told me he completely took my comment wrong, and as the rejection hit his eyes, I wanted to take it back, but it was too late.
“We’re mated now, and if I’m still broken and you don’t want cubs …” I hoped he could see that it was a bona fide it’s not you it’s me situation.
“You are perfectly mine, whether she comes out to play or not.” He smacked my ass, effectively ending said conversation. “Now quit stalling. I need to feel you come on my tongue soon or the wait will kill me.”
“Death? Isn’t that a little overdramatic?”
“Says the woman who dropped … ow!”
I smacked his ass in return only much harder, mostly out of embarrassment because my control had been nonexistent when I dropped to my knees. Not that I would change it. Great, now all I wanted to do was go to round two.
“You completely deserved that,” I said over my shoulder as I made my way to the glass doors, shaking what my mama gave me.
“I did, now off we go.”
He passed me and stepped outside, his lion emerging instantly. Before I had time to take in his glorious lion, my wolf pushed forward in a way she had never done before and I found myself running after my mate on all four paws. He roared his approval before dashing into the woods. Game on. I had a mate to catch and some orgasms to collect.
Epilogue
“Open mine.” Melanie thrust her gift toward a very pregnant Camille.
We kept her shower a secret, knowing that Chris’s clan, now her clan, would’ve all wanted to participate. We would hold another one for her, but this one was just for us.
Camille ripped the paper and opened the box. She pulled out a rock and looked perplexed. “Thank you.” The sincerity in her voice when thanking Melanie for her weird rock showed just how close we had all gotten. Melanie might not understand all human customs, but we had all grown thick as thieves and if she was excited about giving the gift, it was important. Even if it was a rock.
I was impressed, although I shouldn’t have been, at how easily Camille had slipped into the world of the paranormal. Sure, it helped that she now held a very scary lion inside her. She wasn’t just normal-huge-cat-with-big-teeth scary either. Her lion was dominant, which surprised the heck out of me the first time she met my wolf, who quickly submitted and called it good. With anyone else my wolf would have stood toe to toe until blood was shed, but my wolf loved Camille as much as I did and understood her lion needed to be in control.
“It’s from fae,” Melanie announced proudly. “It’s a customary gift symbolizing motherhood.”
I watched as tears filled Camille’s eyes, and she hugged Melanie before settling back in her seat and exploring every facet of the rock.
“Do you miss fae?”
Melanie never talked about home, and her gift had me asking a question I had long wanted to ask, but was afraid to broach for fear of hurting her feelings.
“I do, but my aunt needs me here.” The cookie business was now gone and in its place they were building a pottery studio. Yet another business that would be lucky to make it a year. I wondered sometimes if Maggie was just changing businesses until she found something perfect for Melanie.
Maggie needed Melanie for the matchmaking business more than anything else, but if you asked Melanie, that business was all Maggie. Melanie’s primary contribution was convincing people to put testimonials up that didn’t quite mention how Maggie got their initial matches so very wrong. It wasn’t a fluke when it happened to Chris and me. It happened All. The. Time. And in order to keep customers coming, Melanie made a point of handling all of the testimonials and promotion. All the matches were happy to help since every last one of them had ended up with a fated mate, even if they all started with a bad first date.
I asked Maggie why she didn’t take my money, and she just shrugged and walked away. I loved her dearly, but I would never pretend to understand her. I wondered if she ever took anyone’s money or if she always did this as a gift.
“Your aunt does need you, and so do we.” I touched her arm as I spoke, a habit I had picked up from Maggie and one that made my wolf happy.
“Bah, you only say that because I’m willing to watch your triplets while you and James galli
vant around town.”
“Hardly, although, we do appreciate that more than you know.” Triplet newborns were tough. Triplet toddlers were something else altogether. “We need you because you are just you. I’m saying it all wrong—just believe me, okay?”
“That’s just your hormones talking,” Melanie stated matter-of-factly.
“Hormones?” Camille piped in, still holding her rock with reverence.
“Yeah, she’s knocked up again.” Melanie’s face dropped as she saw my shock. “Well suck an egg, you didn’t know yet, did you, Ruby?”
I shook my head.
“Congratulations?”
“Congratulations?” James’s voice covered me like a warm blanket. I hadn’t even heard the door open, much less him come in.
“Ummm, yeah honey, it looks like our boys are going to get a sibling.”
He crouched in front of me, joy shining in his eyes. “I told you, you are perfect. Perfectly mine.” His hand settled on my belly and the moment was one I wanted to hold the memory of forever. It would always seem like magic to me, how I went from broken shifter to mate, to wolf, to mother, to future mother, but it was our magic. Ignited with the help of a little dragon power gone awry.
About the Author
Filled with the desire to write books she wouldn’t want her mama to know she read, much less wrote, Ever Coming was born.
Ever Coming is the pen name of an international best selling author who simply wanted some heat with her sweet romances. When she is not reading and writing romances, Ever is usually found enjoying time with her kids and husband.
EverComing
www.evercoming.com
Untamed Lord of Thessaly
A Halcyon Romance: Lords of Thessaly #5
Rachael Slate
With one whisper, sultry nymph Ekho can compel anyone to her bidding. Except the wild and unbroken centaur Lord Petraeus, who makes a command of his own—the complete surrender of her body, soul, and heart.
On the edge of a whisper
As one of the Aurae, breeze nymphs, Ekho can utter compulsive suggestions to anyone, anywhere. Even to the wild and unbroken centaur Lord Petraeus, who stubbornly resists her commands at every turn. Yet if she can’t convince him to help save her people—and his—it will be too late for both of their races.
Darkness and temptation mingle
Despite his better reason, Petraeus has followed the instructions of the sultry, seductive voice in his head. She promises his actions will aid his family, but so far, they’ve inched him closer to being hanged as a traitor. Now, the voice has a new task for him, one that will push him to the brink. But when he stumbles upon the owner of the voice, the bewitching nymph Ekho, their battle of wills—and desires—may force them both to yield what they vowed they never would.
And true love will rise, or perish on the winds
When their enemies seize control of Ekho’s powers, Petraeus will have to employ every persuasion to save the only woman who can command his heart, before she’s lost to him forever.
Persuasion
When the Olympian gods overthrew the Titans, they divided the rule of the world. Zeus proclaimed himself Supreme Ruler and governed the skies. Poseidon claimed the oceans. The Underworld, and the souls of the dead, fell to Hades. All were content with the arrangement.
Until Hades met Persephone.
Their forbidden love blasted through Mt. Olympus, initiating a cataclysmic rift between the gods. The imbalance in the heavens nearly shattered the fragile human world below. In punishment, Zeus cursed Persephone. Nine months of each year, she would remain by her mother’s side, tending to the human harvests. The other three months were hers to spend with her husband, Hades, in the Underworld.
The arrangement pleased none.
Centuries have passed. As humans turn their devotion to Science, the powers of the Olympian gods diminish. In an attempt to regenerate their divinity, the gods have procreated, breeding new species of being—such as centaurs, winged ones, and mermaydes. With the unique strengths of their individual godly parents, these descendants have thrived in their own worlds, alongside humans but hidden from view.
The rift in Olympus widens as each god gains new strength. When the Fates intervene with a damning wager, these descendants become the answer to Persephone’s curse. Hades and Persephone’s quest to reclaim their love will pit god against god, in a tournament unmatched since time began. Victory will lie in the union of warriors—exceptional females who control the elements and the males whose love makes them strong.
If they succeed, love will be theirs to claim.
But if they fail, their love will fall to ruin.
It is the eve of war, and the battle for the power of Persuasion begins now.
Chapter One
Centaur lands, Thessaly
Year 1384 of the reign of King Cheiron II
Or the human year, 1689
Petraeus gritted his teeth and corked his fingers in his ears as he paced across his chamber. “No, not listening.”
You’ve come this far. No point in stopping now, the sweet, lilting voice of temptation whispered along a warm breeze.
Plugging his ears didn’t work. Nor did thrashing his head against a wall until he lost consciousness. The voice always returned when he woke, buzzing in his head like a sultry purring. It belonged to a nymph. The bloody wench coerced his person as well as his mind, though not by her will. Nymphs exuded a sensuality that dragged most men to their knees. This female didn’t employ those powers against him.
It was his own damned body that betrayed him.
Drawing up short, he scowled down the length of his body. His stiff cock stood at attention, erect from one hum of her seductive voice.
Well, if one couldn’t defeat one’s enemy… He lifted and dropped a shoulder, his fingers extending to grip himself.
Don’t even try. Her voice resonated through his body and the arousal drained from his shaft.
Damn her. Nymphs could also augment—or diminish—a male’s lust.
Sighing, he scraped a hand along the side of his face and hung his head. “What do you want this time?”
Aye, this time, for the nymph had been tormenting him for nigh on a year. Each of her requests had teetered a little further along the edge of treason, as though she enjoyed toying with his destruction.
Don’t you wish to see your family content? Safe? I promise you, they will be.
Ha. He snorted into the empty chamber of his castle at Austere Pass. She’d already compelled him to betray two of his brothers. Hector and Oreius were the last brothers he had yet to stab in the back, which was presumably why she’d chosen to pester him today. “You forced me to guide our Lapith enemy Myron onto Agrius’s lands, where he attempted to kill my brother and his mate. If that wasn’t terrible enough, you then coerced me to free the bastard,” he counted off the offenses on the fingers of his right hand, “and let’s not forget how you made me kiss Thereus’s mate.” He grimaced at the distasteful memory. “Now, likely, you would demand I send either Hector or Oreius to his certain death. Am I right?”
He flung out his arm. “But, no, nymph, I’ll not be listening to any more of your persuasions.” Even if I have to cut out my ears. He eyed the hilt of the dagger tucked into his boot. What use would ears be to him if a noose tightened around his neck?
His fingers crept downward, inching toward the hilt.
You’ll do no such thing, centaur.
Just like that, the voice commanded his body, freezing his hand to his leg.
Are we clear?
Her firm, severe tone sank resignation into his chest. “Aye, Aura.” Nymph of the breeze. Someday, he’d get his hooves on her, and on that day…
He groaned and flexed his fingers as they came under his control once more.
Petraeus, Hector must—
Eerily, the voice cut off, the gentle breeze sucked from his chamber, a foreign, masculine rumbling behind it. The words jumbled and he only caug
ht “Master.”
He stiffened and waited for the persuasion to freeze his will, binding it to hers. Yet nothing happened. Frowning, he stamped down any elation. She would return. She always did.
Undoubtedly, he would continue to be naught but her puppet.
Of course, his first impulse upon hearing the voice had been to consult his father, the great and wise King Cheiron.
Naturally, the nymph had anticipated and countered, compelling his tongue and forcing him to keep her secrets.
So he obeyed her instructions, knowing all the while…
She would surely bring about his doom.
* * *
Ekho of the Aurae, breeze nymphs, paced inside her cell. Damn. The centaur Lord Petraeus proved more and more difficult to manipulate.
Couldn’t he see? This was bigger than any of them. The entire fate of their races rested on following these carefully crafted directions. Though she offered him every assurance his cooperation would ensure the security of his family, he continued to view his actions as treacherous.
The true betrayal would be to succumb to their enemies without mustering any semblance of a fight.
A stocky, sneering guard marched to her cell. “The Master wishes to see you, nymph.”
Ekho rolled her eyes and cut off her connection with Petraeus. The less he knew about her situation, the safer he would be. She’d finish the persuasion later.
One month in King Philaeus’s dungeon hadn’t broken her. As long as her sisters were held captive alongside her, Ekho would fight to her last breath to save them.
Well, as much as any nymph could fight. Being creatures of love, nymphs were incapable of its opposite—any act of violence. Which made them easy prisoners.