Her hands clung desperately onto his thick, corded muscles, like a sailor hanging onto the mast of a sinking ship. She climbed higher and higher as the wave of pleasure built up inside her…
Then finally, she peaked, letting out a splintering cry as her mind and body exploded in pleasure!
Callum roared, his primal instincts taking over. He thrust into her in rapid succession, his breaths coming out in hard pants. His eyes clouded over as he lost all control over himself! Opening his mouth, he bit into the soft flesh of Elise’s neck with the sharp points of his front teeth—marking her with his seal as he claimed her as his mate.
Elise cried out from the sudden burst of pain as she felt Callum’s teeth pierce deep into her skin. Her blood pounded through her body, blocking out all sound as it rushed towards her ears. For a long moment, all she could feel was a throbbing pain, accompanied by a strange sensation of some invisible bond snapping in place, drawing and binding their souls together. The pain disappeared after a while, leaving only a feeling of euphoria.
She felt her heart soar with his, entwined together for all of eternity.
Grunting, Callum plunged deep into Elise, thrusting once, twice, three times, before he released another loud roar as he exploded inside her, filling her with his white, hot seed.
He’d claimed her: heart, mind, body and soul. She was his forever…both of them bound to one another as mates for life.
EPILOGUE
“Gideon! Stop dashing about!” Elise scolded, holding her round, pregnant belly as she rose up off her chair. “You’re driving me mad with all your running around!”
“But mum!” Gideon wailed, halting abruptly in the middle of the floor. “There’s still so much to do. The cot just got delivered this morning and I need to set it up properly with the mattress and blankets, and then I still need to finish painting the mural on the wall,” he gestured wildly at the room with his hands.
“The baby’s not due to come for at least another four weeks. You have plenty of time! There’s no need to rush,” Elise reasoned, shaking her head, but smiling nonetheless. She strode over to him, looking down at his cute, anxious face. “Your father will be here soon, and he can help you bring the cot in and set up the rest of the baby’s room.”
Gideon pouted, crossing his arms. “Fine,” he sulked. “But I get to choose the paint colors.”
“Yes, yes. Of course,” Elise said soothingly, patting and stroking his head. “You’re going to make a wonderful older brother,” she told him, trying to calm his nerves.
She knew Gideon was nervous about becoming a big brother and part of the reason why he was racing about like a mad duck was so he could discharge his nervous energy.
Elise smiled lovingly down at the young boy; he’d grown older over this summer, and he was much taller compared to when she’d first met him drowning in the lake a year and a half ago.
After they’d reclaimed the garrison from the intruders, and things had settled down, she and Callum had adopted him as their son. Gideon’s biological father had never bothered to show up to take his son home, and Elise, having grown to love Gideon like he was her own child, wanted him to be part of their family.
Callum had agreed immediately, since he himself had grown very fond of the boy, and now soon, there would be another addition to their growing family!
Elise had never been as happy as she was this moment in her life. She felt like she’d found her place in the world, aswell as a home inside this garrison amongst Callum, the staff, and his soldiers, who she now called her friends.
“There you both are,” a deep, rumbling voice called out happily from the doorway. Both Elise and Gideon turned their heads to see Callum striding towards them with a wide grin on his face. He stopped beside them, glancing around the room with a raised eyebrow. “Have the two of you been holed up in this room the entire day?” he asked them.
Elise blushed, looking at the floor guiltily. Callum chuckled, going over and encircling an arm around his wife’s waist, giving her a quick hug and peck on the mouth before pulling away.
“And how are you doing, young man?” he asked Gideon, ruffling his son’s brown hair. Gideon beamed up at his father, his eyes staring at him in adoring admiration. “Well, sir. I’m making sure mum doesn’t overexert herself too much, so I’m helping her with all her chores and getting the baby’s room ready,” he said proudly.
Callum grinned at Gideon. “I can see you’ve been doing a great job,” he winked conspiratorially at him as he glanced slyly at his wife. Elise snorted, and lightly shoved him in the arm.
“The two of you, stop it!” she warned, but both Callum and Gideon could tell from the tone of her voice she wasn’t serious.
“How about we go for a walk outside, then? Get some fresh air?” Callum suggested, turning on his charm and giving Elise a handsome, rugged smile.
She felt herself immediately relenting, and nodded. “Good idea. Gideon? You up for an afternoon stroll?”
Gideon jumped up and down with excitement. “Can we go past the training grounds?” he asked, clasping his hands together hopefully. “Cassius is teaching the new recruits with real swords today, and I’d really like to watch the lesson!”
Callum looked over at Elise, silently asking for her permission. She gave a small nod of her head, smiling. “Sure. Let’s go!”
He took Gideon by the hand, and they started walking out of the room with Gideon hopping and skipping excitedly beside him.
Elise followed a few paces behind, watching on with a happy smile as Callum and Gideon chatted away about this and that. She loved seeing them bond, and the scene of the two of them walking together hand in hand, made her heart melt like butter.
The future lay before them, full of possibilities…! And it warmed Elise to know she would be journeying through it with all her loved ones by her side.
She placed her hand on her belly, feeling the baby kick. Looking down at the large bump, she smiled. Soon, with their new addition, there would be even more love to share in their family.
Lifting her head up, her eyes followed her husband’s strong, dependable figure as he strode with steady footsteps in front of her. Her eyes trailed down to see Gideon’s smiling profile as the boy laughed at something Callum said, and her heart swelled with pride and love for her husband. She knew with confidence and certainty Callum was going to make a wonderful father.
“Thank you…” she murmured, her eyes turning skywards towards the heavens as she closed her eyes briefly.
She was eternally grateful she’d been blessed with such an amazing mate.
SNEEK PEEK: DRAGON LORDS BLOOD CONTRACT
(DRAGON MARKED BOOK 1)
Read on Amazon Now!
The trouble began at midday. It had been a slow morning spent answering a few email enquiries from prospective clients: a case about a missing family heirloom, a cheating husband, stolen jewelry – nothing extremely interesting, but small jobs that would help pay the bills.
I sat back in my chair, and propped my feet up on my cherry oak desk. Scattered across its surface was organized chaos – towers of paperwork piled high, waiting for me to complete and finish filing away.
I moaned, covering my face in my hands.
I hated paperwork.
I hated it more than almost anything.
My brain just seemed to automatically shut down and stop working whenever it came to admin and filing. I’m sure there was some legitimate clinical medical condition for this - they just had to find a name for it.
I was contemplating how I should tackle this undesirable task, when there was a knock at my office door.
A happy distraction.
I plopped my feet off the desk, and sat up properly so I could reach my laptop and turn on the video feed from the secret camera I had outside. It was installed inside one of the two ironcast lanterns secured on the wall on either side of the door.
The camera revealed a man with short dark hair and wearing sleek black glasses
, standing outside. He seemed out of place in the plain white hallway in his posh clothes.
Wearing a dark gray fitted suit, with his hair parted off-centre and fringing his forehead on one side, and carrying a slim black leather suitcase in one hand, he looked like he’d stepped out of a cover of GQ magazine.
I wondered if he’d gotten lost.
The stranger seemed to be gazing curiously at the large lion statue guarding the door, an amused smile playing on his lips.
He ran his fingertip across its marble fangs, appreciating the artistry. Little did he know, hidden inside was a smoke bomb, powerful enough to fill the entire hallway if released.
It was a safety precaution I’d built in case I was ever cornered inside my office and needed a way to escape. The trigger for the bomb was built into the underside of my desk. I’d only ever had to use it twice in my life. Both times, the bomb had proved to be highly effective.
Mister GQ knocked again and I pressed one of the buttons under my desk, unlocking the door with a buzz.
“Come in!” I hollered.
I watched as the mysterious man entered, and looked around the room critically.
Dark brown eyes took in the sparse interior – a long lounge with two matching single chairs and standing lamps on one side – the lounge often acting as a second bed for me when work got busy – and a few vases filled with pink cherry blossom branches, adorned the back half of the room. At the front half, I sat at my desk with gray steel filing cabinets standing up against the wall behind me.
The man walked towards me, his eyes sweeping over the messy piles of papers and folders threatening to completely overtake the desk space in front of me.
As I studied him, I pretended not to notice the look of judgement that passed over his handsome features, and acted as if my office wasn’t the complete mess it was in. If he had a problem with it, he’d just have to deal with it.
I gestured for him to take a seat.
“Please, sit down, Mr…?” I trailed off, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.
“Payne…Ethan Payne.” He looked up from my desk to smile at me crookedly. Unable to help himself, it wasn’t long before he glanced down again, eyes continuing to take measure of the various heaps of paper strewn across the top of my table – perhaps trying to determine what I was working on.
I shrugged, not bothering to apologize for the clutter.
Taking a seat in one of the two chairs occupying the space in front of my desk, he placed his suitcase down on the floor, before straightening up and sitting back in the cushioned seat.
“How can I help you?” I asked, clasping my hands together.
“You are Miss Jasmine Wyatt, I presume?” he asked in a deep voice in an English accent.
“Yes, that’s right,” I nodded, scanning him from top to bottom.
Neatly shaven, clean manicured hands, stylishly dressed in a well ironed tailored suit with a plain black tie – trendy, but not overstated. A young professional from my guess.
And from what my nose was telling me, his metrosexual look belied a dominant masculine scent.
“I’m looking for someone with your particular skillset to help me and my team with a specific problem.”
I arched an eyebrow. “And what kind of problem would that be?”
“We need help locating an item.”
“Go on.”
“It’s an artifact of sorts. A very ancient one. It hasn’t been seen for quite a while.”
“Hmmm…” Tilting my head to one side, I gave Ethan a questioning look. “How long are we talking about? A year, two years, or maybe five?”
Ethan paused. “More like a few centuries.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, locking my gaze with Ethan’s, and stared at him in keen interest. “And what makes you think I can find it?”
Ethan leaned forward in his chair, flashing me a charming smile.
“You’ve come highly recommended, Miss Wyatt. I’ve spoken to a few of your past clients and they all say you’re amazingly skilled at finding even the most secret and well concealed objects…”
“Is that right?” I laughed dryly.
“Yes. I’ve also heard you’ve got a real talent for getting people out of sticky situations. Both these capabilities makes me feel confident you’re well equipped to help me with my situation.”
Examining Ethan carefully, I tried to work out who he’d spoken to, and whether it included any of the clients I’d pissed off to the point they hated my guts. At least a dozen people came to mind who would have less than glowing remarks to say about me – particularly the ones that had tried to cheat me by not paying.
“Tell me more about the job,” I finally said.
“My team and I are looking for an enchanted amulet. It’s said to have once belonged to the great Merlin. Word has it that the amulet is a conduit between the owner and a powerful oracle in another plane.”
“Is this a hoax? Or some sort of wild goose chase?” I cracked a laugh, checking to see if I’d heard right. A mystical amulet belonging to a legendary wizard, powerful enough to connect someone to another dimension. My first thought was, this guy must be smoking something.
“I assure you, I am being very serious. The amulet exists, and I need you to help me find it.”
“Okay,” I said, deciding to play and see where this would go. “Have you got any leads?”
“We’re chasing one down at the moment. All signs look positive so far, and I’m hopeful it’ll help point us to the general location of the amulet.”
I nodded, acknowledging the information, humming as I drummed my fingers on the arm of my chair.
“So, what do you need me to do exactly?” I asked, lifting my brow curiously.
Ethan smiled at me thinly, and got straight to the point. “I won’t beat around the bush with you Miss Wyatt, since time is one of the commodities I value the most. I know you have the special ability to scent magical signatures, and it makes you one of the best trackers out there. I need you to use this talent of yours to help me and my team to find the exact location of the amulet.”
The tapping of my fingers came to an abrupt halt.
“Do I now?” I said archly, pausing to assess Ethan’s expression. “Then, why is it I can’t smell yours?”
There was a moment of silence as Ethan locked eyes with mine, holding my gaze steady with his. Then answering in a quiet voice, he said, “Perhaps I don’t have one.”
I sniffed as if scenting the air, then pursed my lips. “Oh no, it’s faint. But it’s definitely there. I just can’t tell exactly what you are. It feels like something between a sorcerer and a shifter…only I can’t quite place it.”
Now that got Ethan’s attention.
He smiled at me wryly. “Your reputation is well earned, Miss Wyatt. I can see why you come so highly recommended.”
“You flatter me. Now, are you going to tell what or who exactly you are? I’m not too comfortable dealing with unknowns,” I said, pulling a tight smile.
I watched as Ethan seemed to consider my request, but not unexpectedly, he smiled back, shaking his head. “It’s a long and complicated story, and not important to the job. Perhaps we should discuss the details of the job instead?”
My eyes narrowed as I stared suspiciously at the man in front of me, wondering if Ethan was even his real name. But this wasn’t the first time I’d encountered a secretive client. In the end, if the man was going to pay well, I didn’t care if his name was Troy or Gulliver.
“What are you offering,” I asked coolly, plastering on an almost disinterested expression.
“A hundred thousand dollars and a bonus.”
I perked up, both at the number and the promise of more. “What sort of bonus?” I asked slowly, trying not to appear too keen.
“A fifteenth century scrying mirror, crafted by Nicolas Flamel himself.”
“The famous sorcerer slash alchemist,” I blurted out, jolting forward in my seat, and completely forgetting that I was pr
etending to be indifferent.
“The very one.”
I sat back impressed, and let out a soft appreciative whistle. It was hard to belief such a rare artifact was being offered on the table.
Then something occurred to me. I narrowed my eyes at Ethan and said, “How can I be sure you even have this mirror? For all I know, you could just be lying – or maybe what you have is a fake.”
Ethan appeared unruffled by my scepticism. On the contrary, he even seemed prepared. Bending over to reach down to his briefcase, he opened it a crack and pulled out a standard sized document, and tossed it onto the table.
It landed with a small puff of air on a cluster of papers occupying the area right in front of me, sending a few sheets skittering astray.
“Blood contract,” he declared brusquely.
I froze, eyes widening as I looked down at it, wondering where the hell this guy had procured that level of magic from.
“Just who are you?” I asked sharply, head snapping up to glare suspiciously at Ethan. There was a discernible edge to my voice.
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