by Caris Roane
“And I’m supposed to lend a hand.”
Seth scowled. “What kind of timing are we looking at?”
“Within the next two days, that’s all I know. And I was to be at your bidding. I’ll come now if you want.”
“Was that part of the vision?”
“No, only that I was supposed to wait for your call and do what you said. So, it’s up to you. I can come now or later. Whenever you want.”
Seth’s arms shook with the thought of Jude being anywhere near Lorelei. He debated not saying something about his current predicament, but he reconsidered. If he’d had a heads-up about Batya, he would either have controlled the impulse to pull her into his arms, or he would have made himself scarce the moment she showed up without Quinlan in tow. “Jude, I have another situation here.”
“Thought you might.”
“These rumors you’ve heard about the blood rose are undeniably true. Not that you wouldn’t have believed Gerrod or the others, but mine has arrived and it’s Lorelei.”
Jude whistled. “No fucking shit.”
“I’m as shocked as you are.”
“But she’s Margetta’s daughter. How is that going to fly?”
He shared what he knew about her past and all that had happened at Big Timber. Jude was silent for a long moment. “Don’t be a fool and wait to bond with her. I’ve talked to the others, to Quinlan and Ethan. And of course Gerrod. But they’ve each said the same thing, that if they’d had any sense they would have just bit the bullet right away.”
“I wish it was that simple but the whole thing is damn overwhelming.”
“I’ve heard that, too. And I won’t make a move to be in Walvashorr until you call.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I’d hate to face off with you, but this thing, it’s powerful.” He smiled ruefully, adding, “Besides, I wouldn’t want to ruin that pretty face of yours.” Jude could wipe the floor with him or any of the other mastyrs. He was the one vampire you wanted in your corner when things fell apart.
Jude laughed heartily.
“I’ll be in touch.”
When he returned the phone to his pocket, he headed back to the kitchen. Lorelei had already cleaned up and was drying her hands when he reached the doorway.
“Just talked to Jude.”
“Mastyr Jude?” Her brown eyes lit up.
He moved into the room, his fists clenching. “You know him? You didn’t tell me that.”
“He’s one of the few mastyrs I did meet. Didn’t he say anything?”
“Like the smart vampire he is, he said he intended to keep away from you.”
She rounded the granite counter, a rim of fur still evident on both wrists. But in her eye was a familiar glint and he was pretty sure he knew what would follow. “But I like Jude. He’s a big man. I like him just fine.”
There it was, her pleasure in taunting him, working him up.
“You stay away from Jude.”
“I’ll do whatever the hell I please.”
Instead of approaching him, however, she started moving backward to the door that led to the trail up the mountain.
He felt something from her, something raw and very shifter, an earthy vibration on his skin. His need to claim her sharpened.
Suddenly, she moved fast, a blur to the door, opening it with fae fingers. But as soon as cold air flowed into the house, she transformed, becoming all wolf and flying on four legs up the mountain.
He flew after her, levitating a foot above the ground. She’d already disappeared into the forest, but he could follow her silvery-teal trail and he smiled.
But where was she going? He hadn’t mistaken her desire since the sweet smell of her sex was still in his nose, apple blossoms and earth combined. He knew she wasn’t running from him, just playing a game that his body liked…a lot.
Up the steep ridge he flew, gliding through the trees, ducking lower branches, slowing down to ease his way through interlocked forest brush until finally her trail ended.
He stopped, lowering his booted feet to the ground.
He stood in front of a large rock formation, snow-capped in places. Scanning the entire face, he dropped his gaze to the point at which the snow met the base.
He knew Lorelei was nearby because he could smell her and something more. He could sense her, maybe because he’d taken her blood. He realized she lived here, that he’d found her den.
“Lorelei,” he called out softly. “Won’t you let me in? I want in.” He emphasized the last word.
Slowly, her enthrallment shield parted and he saw the cast-off snow where she’d dug out her den.
He would barely fit, and would have to do some serious bending and twisting, but like hell he would refuse this invitation. His woman had created a home for herself out of rock and earth, a very female shifter thing to do.
Using levitation, he leaned low and worked his way through the space, until once inside, he could stand. Lorelei had found a cave to inhabit.
She knelt on a fur rug facing him, completely naked except for the white ruffs on the backs of her hands and around her throat. Her brown hair hung in layers around her shoulders. Her eyes were dark with desire, her nipples peaked.
Slowly, he removed his coat, working off his boots and his shirt, finally unzipping his battle leathers, peeling them down his toughened thighs.
She leaned forward slightly, watching him, her fingers curling, nails digging into her thighs. “Seth.”
He nodded as he approached her, but he remained standing. He loved that she was on her knees, a very submissive position for what he had in mind. Holding his cock in his hand, he said, “Let me feed you.” He held her gaze, commanding her.
She lowered her hands to the fur rug and crept forward, her chin down but her eyes raised to him. Yes, very shifter.
He nodded his approval.
“Part your lips, Lorelei, let me see your beautiful teeth, your wet tongue.”
She leaned back on her heels and opened her mouth, rimming her lips with her tongue.
He took his cock in hand. He was fully erect, ready for her.
His gaze dropped to her breasts. They were large and firm, weighted at the bottom and sloped at the top. He wanted his mouth on them, working her into a frenzy of need and desire.
He stroked himself lightly as he watched her chest rise and fall with each ragged breath, her scent rising.
He stepped onto the fur and drew close. “Do you want to be fed?”
She nodded.
Easing himself into position, he moved his hand to the back of her head and watched as the tip of his erect cock slid past her lips.
The sight alone made him groan, but the feel of her moist, warm mouth as he pushed inside, sent a series of thrills down his thighs.
* * * * * * * * *
Lorelei savored the feel of Seth’s cock in her mouth, the velvety texture of his skin and the hard arousal beneath that would later pierce her just right.
From the time she’d seen him in the castle, she’d fantasized about this, about being on her knees and having his hand at the back of her head, controlling and directing her as she sucked him.
She rolled her tongue over his flesh, drawing him deeper, then released him just to the edge of her lips, only to pull him back in. She looked up at him as she repeated the process, her gaze never wavering from gray-green eyes so full of passion. This was Seth, Mastyr of Walvashorr, one of the oldest of the mastyrs who had been battling the Invictus for centuries.
He’d lived alone for such a long time, now she was here, kneeling and sucking and in her way letting him know he wasn’t alone anymore.
She skated her fingers up the insides of his thighs and nudged his balls with the backs of her hands, drifting her fur ruffs up and over then back down.
“Sweet Goddess.” His voice was barely a whisper in her private den.
Seth, she pathed his name softly, mind-to-mind.
He pulled out of her, looking down into her eye
s. He dropped to the fur in front of her and caught her chin in his hand. He leaned close and kissed her, driving his tongue deep.
She whimpered and drifted the back of her hand down his neck and chest so that he could feel her fur. She could tell he loved the ruffs.
As he kissed her, she petted his cock, then turned her hand over so he could feel her soft fur down the hard length.
Seth was a big man, and longer than any man she’d been with. Her body writhed as his tongue entered her mouth again.
She knew what she wanted and without giving him warning, she flipped around, turning away from him and at the same time lowering her arms to the furs. She was fully exposed to him, swollen and needy. She couldn’t explain it, but the shifter part of her needed him to take her like this, from behind, and she wanted it rough.
From the time she’d first seen Seth at the castle, she’d kept herself bare, hoping for this moment, so that nothing would be hidden from him. But just for fun, she sprouted a new ruff, this time on the insides of her legs so that her passage was surrounded by a thin layer of white fur.
“You look amazing.” His voice was deep and hoarse.
The cave smelled of Seth now, a mossy, rich scent from the darkest place in the forest.
His nose found her first, pushing his way through the crown of fur she’d created just for him. She felt his chin tremble.
He used his tongue first, swiping from side-to-side as he traveled from the bottom of her opening, to the top of her clitoris. She heard his rough breathing as he tasted her, sucking in turns, then nipping, sometimes nuzzling through the ruff.
You smell so wonderful, Lorelei. Edible. Sweet Goddess, so edible.
She wanted him inside her badly now, any part of him, so that when he drove his tongue into her, she cried out, arching her neck and rising up on her arms to all fours. In this position he had to bend over to reach her, but he held her right hip with one hand and supported himself with the other while he worked her.
He ate like a starved man, teasing her flesh with his thrusting tongue, then coming out to nibble and suck on her lips, then diving back in. He made the most delicious sounds, like he was feasting.
How do I taste?
Like an orchard and I can’t get enough. I could do this for hours.
Her hips responded by pushing back into his face. I’m so close. Seth, you’ve taken me right to the edge.
Then fall over, let it spill out of you.
And before she knew what he meant to do, his tongue held a vibration, a very realm sensation, and as he thrust into her, he sent the vibration through her well, filling her with so much pleasure that she cried out.
An orgasm followed in a ripple of ecstasy that stole her breath in one moment then had her screaming the next. The whole time the sensation flowed, he kept pushing into her. He sent darts of vibration until she trembled and another orgasm barreled through her.
“Seth!” She screamed his name as the pulses kept flowing through her, up into her abdomen, so that she rocked into him over and over.
As the last of the sweet pleasure drifted away, she fell on her face, her body floating and content. “Oh, Seth. It’s never been like this.”
He slapped her bottom. “Don’t refer, even obliquely, to other experiences you’ve had.”
She rolled slightly to look at him as he picked up his shirt and wiped his face.
For a very specific reason, she said the unthinkable to him. “I’ve had a lot of men in my life. A lot.”
She watched him blink then his nostrils flared, but not in pleasure.
She wanted him this way, angry with her, worked up.
Rubbing a hand down her thigh, she parted her legs wide, letting him see the ruff that he liked so much. She reached behind and petted the crown of fur. “Those men have been right here.”
The muscles of his arms tightened into balls of pure masculine rage and intent.
He fell on her, forcing her back down to the fur and the shifter part of her lifted her hips on strong thighs and prepared for the onslaught.
He grabbed her with one arm across her lower pelvis and found her entrance. He shoved his cock hard, something she wanted more than life itself, for Seth to take her like this on all fours, like the animal she wanted and needed him to be right now.
He fucked her, his breathing raspy as he anchored himself with one hand balanced on the fur near her left shoulder. He pumped into her with quick solid jerks of his hips, hitting her just right. She arched her neck and howled as fur spread down her chest just covering her nipples. The sensation took her to a new level of arousal.
She’d never explored her passionate, shifter-side, her own animal nature, and having Seth pummeling her from behind pushed her toward another climax.
Anchored as he was, he slid his hand up her abdomen, grabbing her skin and chuffing against her neck. When he found the fur that covered her nipples, he cried out and punched into her harder still.
Then suddenly, his teeth sank into the back of her neck, the way a shifter male would claim his woman.
She screamed in ecstasy all over again as another orgasm fell on her, rocking her body, pulling more pleasure than she’d ever known from her clitoris, driving up through her well, filing her with waves of bliss.
And just when she was sure she couldn’t take anything more, he removed his hold on the back of her neck, but only long enough to bite into her neck with his fangs and to suck hard.
The moment her blood began leaving her body, her internal well began to pull on him all over again, a kind of pleasurable agony she’d never known before. She panted hard as he drank her down, grunting as he fed on her.
A new vibration flowed straight from his cock this time.
Another orgasm poured through her just as he left her neck, rising up, then driving deep, holding her hips as he roared, his voice like a powerful storm inside the small space.
She felt his release and it spurred yet another rise to the pinnacle. She arched her neck, howling and shoving her bottom into him, meeting each thrust of his hips until at last he began to slow, until he’d given her all that he had and her own pleasure finally drifted to a state of sweet euphoria.
* * * * * * * * *
Seth trembled as the last of his orgasm settled down. His cock jerked a few more times, making sure that every drop of his seed was planted deep inside Lorelei.
He felt different than the last time he’d had sex with Lorelei, at the window of his bedroom overlooking the Gorge. At that time, he hadn’t exactly been aware of what he was doing.
This time, he knew precisely what his intention was, to make it clear that she belonged to him now, on a basic realm level, man to woman, to no one else but him.
And she’d known exactly what she was doing when she’d spoken of other men having been inside her. She’d wanted him to lose control and damn him for loving it, that he’d taken her so hard, with such effortless and complete passion, that he barely recognized himself.
As she lowered herself to the fur once more, he went with her. He was big enough to stay inside and he wanted to be there, to stay connected.
Easing down on top of her, she sighed and reached for his outstretched hand, entwining her fingers with his.
The sight of their joined hands gripped his heart as nothing else had in a long time. Even his throat grew tight. Could this be his life? His future?
He’d split into a dozen pieces when his parents and younger brother had died, and a dozen more when he’d been forced to kill his elder brother because he’d become part of a wraith-pair. But that didn’t stop him for longing for the promises that Lorelei’s presence in his realm now made, that maybe he could have a permanent woman in his life, maybe even a family of his own.
With these thoughts, his mating vibration began to hum from deep within his realm soul. The sensation was very distant, like a far off train whistle, so far away that he wondered if he’d really heard it at all.
But in the end, the vibration fa
ded and he sighed.
He set his rational mind to examining his bizarre relationship with Lorelei, to begin creating a variety of boxes into which he stuffed her faeness, her wild shifter side, her connection to the packs of Walvashorr, that she was a blood rose, that he felt so possessive of her, and that she was something called the prime female and he the regis in the volatile shifter community.
His body cooled down with his thoughts. As he drew out of the warm center of her body and stood, his mind turned toward his duties as Mastyr of Walvashorr.
He began to feel more like himself, more in charge, more centered, and yes, more shut off from his emotions.
“Hey.” Her soft, melodious voice rippled through the air, forcing him to turn toward her. She rolled on her side and smiled. “You’re thinking very hard, Seth. Too hard, maybe.”
And that was the real problem, that she only had to smile and part of him got lost in the process, especially his ability to think. He wanted to fall down next to her and pull her into his arms, cradle her, kiss her for maybe the next century.
What was her hold on him that after only a month with her, he could be drawn in so easily?
He looked away planting his hands on his hips and considered his next move. He needed to clean up before he put his clothes back on and found a few wash clothes on a low shelf she’d installed in her den. When he handed her a cloth, she pressed it between her legs and he loved the sight of it, that she had to use it to take care of the seed he’d filled her with. Especially in the shifter community, the scent of sex had a strong marking aspect that helped the males to know what was what. It was also the cause of a lot of warring between different packs when a male or a female crossed the line.
And here was his dichotomy all over again that while he wanted distance he was glad she’d carry his scent.
“So you created a den.” He glanced around. “And you’ve been living here for the past month?” Somehow, he thought she’d rented a house or maybe just a room in one of the nearby hamlets. It seemed odd to him that he hadn’t thought to find out. “Somehow I assumed you were staying with a local troll family.”