“Hungover?” he asks with a smile.
“No,” I reply, grabbing the coffee and taking a big drink.
“Sore pussy?”
I eye him in annoyance, knowing how pleased with himself he is. “Yes,” I growl, slipping my feet into some flip flops before walking out the door.
“You’re welcome,” he says with a wide grin as he follows me out the door. I can’t help but roll my eyes as I smile back.
“Shut up. So who did you find to blow you in the alley?” I ask, mildly curious.
“Oh, nobody special.” He shrugs. “On to the next one. But you, you need to spill. Who did you spend the night with?”
“Just someone that works at Vee,” I reply stoically.
“I’m gonna need more than that,” he says, before frowning in concentration. “Logan? Oakley?”
“No to both.”
“Then who? Just tell me, Cal,” he groans, and then takes a drink of his own coffee, looking at me with puppy dog eyes.
“Landyn,” I say with a small quirk of my lips.
“Shut the fuck up!” Lars says with a loud guffaw. “I knew you had a thing for broken animals, but not broken men.”
Landyn
My body is rigid when I wake up and not in a good way. Sweat drenches my skin, and I feel the silken bedspread sticking to me uncomfortably. I blink repeatedly to try to erase the images of my nightmares from my mind, but it never works. Feeling my heart beat out of control as adrenaline rushes through me, I startle when I hear a knock at the door.
“You okay in there, Lan?” asks my supervisor and closest friend through the wood of the door. Lan. I focus on the words, remembering her moaning them last night. The scratches on my back and shoulders burn slightly, but in a good way—a nice burning memory of the night’s events. When the door pushes open, I grab the blanket on the bed to cover my semi-hard cock from Reggie.
“I saw Calluna leaving this morning,” Reggie tells me with a smile. “She seemed to be in a hurry to get out of here and didn’t seem happy to see me.”
“No, I don’t suppose she was. I’m sure you made things uncomfortable,” I say with a shake of my head.
Reg just shrugs and walks further into the room, grabbing my jeans from the floor and tossing them to me. “She’s good for you. I’m glad to see you getting back out there.”
I frown at him as I pull the jeans onto my body. “She’s nothing,” I growl, knowing the words aren’t true as they leave my lips. “And I’m not getting back out there. Last night was a mistake.”
Reg shakes his head at me, a look of disappointment crossing his features. A look I am getting all too used to. “Landyn, you gotta get over this shit. You are so far in your fucking head that you aren’t the same person anymore. That shit with Shani is in the past, and I know you won’t fucking believe me, but it wasn’t your fault.”
My shoulders immediately tense, and I feel my hands close into fists. Shani. Just the sound of that bitch’s name makes me want to punch something. Shani and her brother Ausar moved to town and took up jobs at the local police station. We don’t have a huge amount of supernatural law enforcement in Silver Springs, so their appearance was a surprise to many. Little did we know that Shani was obsessed with vampires and not in a good way. Hellbent on avenging her ancestors, who she believes were made almost extinct due to vampires, she began targeting vampires and their businesses in town. As I’m a griffin shifter and not a vampire, it shouldn’t have involved me, but her obsession grew to taking down the Whitakers and Vee, my employers. As one of the heads of security, it wasn’t surprising that her path crossed with mine, even though we didn’t know it was her that was targeting the bar at the time.
A little-known fact about sphinx shifters is they have the power to manipulate the minds of others, including other supernatural beings. One night on my rounds, she got me alone, and then I was hers to direct. Her slave. Although I could sense what was happening to me, I could do nothing to stop it. It was like I was trapped in my own body while someone else had the controls. The things she made me do—I grit my teeth, forcing the images out of my head.
“I’m fine,” I growl out, pushing myself up off the bed. I find my t-shirt on the floor by the door, haphazardly thrown across the room last night, then grab it and pull it over my head. I need to go home, shower, and change.
“I want you to take the night off,” Reggie says pointedly, putting his muscled arm between me and the door. “We have Oakley and a few others working tonight. Take the night, clear your head.”
“I thought that’s what last night was?” I ask sarcastically with a quirk of my brow. “I fucked a customer last night while I was on the clock. Aren’t you supposed to be ripping into my ass instead of giving me the night off?”
Reggie smiles at me, shaking his head. “Consider me your fairy fucking godmother. Now go home and get some sleep. Maybe call Calluna.”
I glare at him until he moves his arm, but he chuckles because he knows I’ll listen to him. Or at least, he thinks I will. I’ll take the night off and get some sleep, but I will not be calling Calluna. The last thing I need to do is drag a woman into the insanity that is my life.
I walk through Vee, thankful that the Whitakers are all sleeping so I don’t have to suffer through any uncomfortable confrontations. The guys would be fine, but Rose sees too much and would definitely interrogate me about last night. I walk around the corner to find my SUV sitting where I left it last night, the bright sun reflecting off the black paint. I get inside and take a deep breath, clutching the steering wheel too tightly, the images of all the Shani shit flashing through my head like I’m some kind of fucking PTSD victim.
Heh, I guess I am.
I drive through town, trying to get to my house as soon as possible. I can tell that I’m going to break down, and I want to be in my home when it happens. If I can just get there, then I can take all this fucking energy out on my punching bag or set a small fire. Fucking cathartic shit.
I drive down the same road I do every single day, just in time to see the one thing I didn’t want to—Calluna and her male coworker walking down the street together towards her pet store. She has stripped from last night’s clothes and is now wearing yoga pants and a loose-fitting t-shirt, still somehow looking just as sinfully beautiful as when she was in that black dress. Her long, dark brown hair is thrown up in a messy bun on top of her head, and I see her face flush as our eyes connect and her chest moves as if she’s letting out a loud gasp. Fuck. I keep driving, ignoring what she does to my senses, and keep my eyes on the road. Five more minutes. Five more fucking minutes, and I’m there.
Five more fucking minutes.
Calluna
Lars and I stand in the same spot we were in when Landyn drove by, leaving me feeling like a fucking idiot. What the fuck?
“Whew. That man makes my cock hard,” Lars says, breaking the silence.
“What the fuck, Lars?” I bark out, shocked, then laugh because I can’t hold it back. “There is something seriously wrong with you.”
“What? You see how sexy he is! Plus that fucking look he gave you.” He shivers as if overcome by whatever look he thinks he saw. There was no look. I’m sure I had a ‘deer in headlights’ look, which is super sexy. Not.
“Let’s just go,” I groan, walking ahead.
“Wanna know what makes him that much sexier?” Lars asks as he jogs a bit to catch up with me.
“Nope. Don’t wanna know,” I reply curtly.
Lars goes on like he didn’t hear me. “Just watching you walk. Holy fuck, that man must be packing something magical to make you walk like you have a stick shoved up your ass.” He quickly dodges my sad attempt to punch him, guffawing in laughter. “I suppose in your case, it’d be more like a log shoved up your cunt.”
I make a loud disapproving noise before spitting out, “You’re fucking crass. I hate that word.”
“Oh, I do apologize, Ms. Daisy. I do declare that the young fellow surely must
have boned you with quite an enormous cock. Toodle pip!” He stops and bows low to me like a character out of a Jane fucking Austen novel.
“I hate you.”
“No, you don’t,” he admonishes, pulling me into his side. “You love me more than anyone else.”
I shake my head, trying my hardest to push myself out of his grasp. Suddenly, my eyes fall on a store I’ve never seen before, and I stop in my tracks. We’re still two blocks away from Beastie Besties, so Lars looks at me strangely until his gaze moves to where mine is focused.
“Black Moon Magick,” Lars says, reading the sign hanging above the door.
“Do you feel that?” I ask as I sense negative energy coming off the store in waves.
Lars seems to shiver, then nods his head. “Yes, let’s go, Calluna.” He grabs my hand and starts to pull me in the direction toward my shop, but I don’t budge.
“I want to go in,” I whisper, my eyes glued to the windows that are covered in blue curtains as dark as the night sky.
“What the fuck? Nope. I didn’t learn a lot from my family, but I learned enough to know that something with that kind of energy is as good as a giant fucking sign screaming ‘get the fuck out,’” Lars says, pulling me with more strength and causing me to stumble a bit.
I look at him pointedly, trying to keep my feet planted. “What if this place is connected to whoever is cursing the animals?” I hiss out, side-eyeing the store.
Lars’ lips form a frown, and his whole body goes rigid before he relents, looking at me angrily. “Five fucking minutes. We go in, look around, then get the fuck out.”
“Deal,” I say with a slight smile, pleased to have gotten my way. Fear floods my chest, but I push it down as I take a step towards the door and pull on the handle.
The typical ding sounds above us as the door opens, alerting the store owner to our presence. A tall man with olive skin and high cheekbones turns to face us. Bright white hair drapes over his shoulder, partially tied back at the top in half a ponytail and revealing large pointed ears. A high elf.
“Hello there,” says the man in a stilted voice, eyeing us carefully. “I am Falcar, welcome to my store.”
I smile at him weakly, my eyes scanning the room—for what, I don’t know. A sign that says, ‘I curse animals’? “I’m Calluna.”
“Ahhh.” He sighs the word. “You own the delightful little pet store down the road. Beastly Beasties?”
“Beastie Besties, but yes, that’s me. Are you new to town? I’ve never seen you before,” I question him, continuing to walk around and look at the items he’s selling.
“Yes,” he says, stepping nearer to me. His eyes are watching me closely. “Silver Springs is quite the quaint little town. More openly supernatural than most towns in the area. I figured it would be a good place to set up shop.”
“Have you had a lot of business?” I ask, flinching a bit at my rudeness.
“Not so far, no. You are the first.” He pauses, walking over to me and picking up the black stone necklace I was looking at. “This is a protection amulet. It repels any kind of unwanted magical residue from attaching to you, best used when working more…sinister magic.”
My lips form a frown, and I nod in acknowledgment. “Most people aren’t so open about practicing dark magic. Do you not fear persecution from the people of the town?”
He gives a long and almost condescending laugh. “You walked in, did you not? Everyone is curious about the dark side of magic, even if they are unwilling to admit it. It’s addictive in its nature. It is exotic and seductive. Before you know it, you’re just practicing magic with no regard to the light or dark qualities.”
He says the words as if he truly believes they’re true. As if he could convert the town of Silver Springs to openly practicing dark magic. No one would be accepting of that. I shake my head unconsciously, and he laughs again.
“You do not believe me?” he asks, drawing my gaze to his. “You think that those around you would not accept your darker nature, changeling?”
My teeth grind together, and I eye him warily. Lars grabs my arm for the second time today and begins pulling me out of the store. “Let’s go, Calluna,” he says quietly, not looking back as he drags me out.
“I’ll be seeing you, Calluna,” Falcar says, enunciating each syllable of my name.
Lars and I walk in silence to the pet store, and I dread each step we take, knowing that once we get there, he’ll have questions. My best friend of seven years never knew that I was a changeling. A dark elf. I should have hightailed it out of that store once I saw that the owner was an elf. I shouldn’t have ever taken Lars in there. I should’ve come back by myself.
When we get to the front door of my store, I fumble with the keys as I unlock the door. We get inside, and immediately, I’m greeted by Lina, the tortoiseshell cat that lives here full time. I’ve tried to take her home multiple times, but she hates it and drags her butt the whole way.
“Hi, Lina,” I croon, rubbing behind her ears as she purrs loudly.
“We aren’t going back there. That guy was a fucking freakshow,” Lars growls out.
“Yeah, he was very strange,” I agree, avoiding his eye.
“What did he mean about your darker nature?” he asks as he sits in one of the chairs in the room.
“Not sure,” I reply, moving to busy myself with getting the shop ready to open up. I walk around checking food and water bowls, saying hi to all the animals that appear excited to see me. Klaus runs up to Lars and jumps on his lap, bringing my attention back to him.
“Hi, Klaus!” Lars exclaims, petting the adorable ferret. I grab the ointment from behind the counter and toss it to him. He catches the ointment with a grimace but immediately begins unscrewing the cap.
“How much longer do you think we’ll be lathering up this little guy?” he asks, globbing some of the medication onto Klaus, who sits there looking like he is loving every minute of it.
“Until he gets adopted, but I’m not sure how long it will be until the rash goes away,” I say, my mouth twisting in worry. I walk over to the door and flip the ‘closed’ sign to ‘open,’ then get back to my normal chores, hoping with all my might that Lars doesn’t pursue questioning me on any darkness the dark mage saw in me.
Rhett
My fingers dig deeper into Damian’s sculpted abdomen as I slam into him harder and harder, his grunts of pleasure spurring me on. I feel the roar of pleasure filling my own abdomen as my body prepares to come, and I race to that finish line.
“I’m close,” I growl, my other hand reaching down lower to grasp his throbbing cock.
“Fuuuuck, Rhett,” Damian moans as I begin pumping him faster, wanting him to finish with me. By the way he pulses in my fist, I know that my wish is about to come true. “Oh fuck, Rhett, I’m coming!” he yells in ecstasy, just as I bottom out one last time, my cum shooting into his ass. I roar my release and free his cock from my grasp, collapsing on top of his back. We’re both covered in sweat, and I have the urge to drag my tongue against his smooth, salty skin.
When I pull my softened cock out of him and drop to the bed beside him, he rolls over and places a hand on my chest. “Fuck, that was good,” I groan out, my breath still coming out in pants.
“It’s always fucking good,” Damian replies with a cocky smile. “Next time, I’m taking you,” he growls, and my cock has the nerve to twitch. Fuck, this man is insatiable.
“I’m always game for that,” I reply, looking at him and still feeling strong feelings of lust. It’s been a couple of years, but fuck, everything about Damian continues to surprise the shit out of me. I’ve never had a relationship with a man, just the standard one-night stand, but this man kept me coming back. Coming and coming.
I’ve lived my life under ridicule, being a fennec fox shifter. Fox shifters are mostly hated in the supernatural community for being sneaky, untrustworthy, and overall ruthless. Add in the fact that I’m a fennec fox? Well, I’m seen as a tiny, deceitful bi
tch. I moved away from my family’s community at twenty-one when I realized that I had no interest in settling down with a vixen fennec and continuing to live that backwoods way of life—literally one with the forest, born to work in the mine, and shoot a litter of kits out with my mate. No thank you. Besides, their backwoods ways of thinking also didn’t look too kindly on me being bisexual. I’ve always found myself attracted to a person versus a singular gender. Men, women, I’ll take ’em both.
That’s what brought me to Silver Springs. A town filled with supernaturals had to be more accepting than where I was from, and I was mostly right. Sure, there are baddies here, just like everywhere else. Beefed up fuckers that think it’s wrong for a man to fuck a man or a woman to fuck a woman, but for the most part, everyone is very accepting. Especially since many of the supernaturals in these parts seem to live a polyamorous lifestyle, something I’ve been drawn to since I first saw it in action. A woman walking down the street surrounded by men that were head over heels in love with her. Living as a family. Dammit, I want that.
“Do you know what I feel like?” Damian asks, interrupting my thoughts.
“Baby, I’m gonna need a minute,” I moan, then lean over and press his soft lips to mine.
“Not that…yet,” he growls back at me, kissing me back passionately. “Let’s go for a run. It’s been a while.”
I nod, not removing my fingers from his hair and biting his lower lip gently. Okay, maybe I’m just as insatiable as he is. But fuck, this man is sexy as hell.
“Let’s go,” he says, pulling himself from my grasp and getting off the bed. I take a moment to take in the view of his tight ass as he stands up and bends over to grab his jeans from the floor. He pulls them onto his body, commando. Fucking hell.
Calluna Page 3