Under the Mask: A Multi-Genre Collection

by Monica Corwin

  When he released my mouth, I could barely draw a full breath. He met my eyes and whispered, “now you are mine.”

  Chapter Four

  My hands shook, and I prayed with everything in me she didn’t notice. I trailed my lips down the arch of her neck to nibble on her collarbone. When I lifted my head, the image of her eyes barely closed, lips parted in pleasure, imprinted to my brain. I knew it would stay there no matter what happened.

  I grasped her neck drawing her lips back to mine. Her heart beat hard against her rib cage under my hands holding her torso. “Tell me one more time, tell me you want me.” I whispered against the wet trail left by my lips.

  She swallowed loud enough I could hear it before answering, “I want you.”

  I smiled, an involuntary reaction to the joy surging through me at her words. “I want to be inside you. I told you the magic is intimate, but that isn’t necessary as a part of it. I won’t do it if you don’t want me to.”

  Each admission cut into me as my body ached to complete hers.

  “No, I’m ready. I have to lose this virginity at some point, right? And if we are going to spend at the least the next year together, might as well get it over with.”

  I trailed my hand down the curve of her waist to part her legs to cup the core of her. “Are you sure?”

  “For Goddess’ sake, do you always ask this many questions? I’m naked, in your bed, and your hand is currently clutching my vagina. I think we are beyond that.”

  I laughed, pressing a kiss to the hollow at the base of her throat. “Fair enough.”

  I slid a finger down, parting her. The heat and slickness of her skin assaulted my senses in a way I’d never be able to forget. “You are so wet.”

  She didn’t respond, and I had to glance up to make sure she was still with me. But she’d twisted so her back to lay flat and her arms were thrown out clutching the coverlet.

  I dipped my finger inside her gently watching for the reaction, she clutched her thighs around my wrist and arched into my hand.

  A sense of pride filled me. I was hard as a rock trapped between my belly and her hips, but my pleasure didn’t matter. I wanted to hear her cry out because of me.

  I dipped my finger in further and she took me, then I added another, stretching her. I had no experience with virgins but, I’d do what I could to make it good for her.

  I turned my hand so I could rub her clit with my thumb as my fingers remained inside her. She jerked at the first delicious circle, her hands coming down, one wrapped into my hair, pulling slightly

  “Tell me if that is good.”

  “Yup. Perfect.”

  I swirled my thumb a little faster. “And that?”

  She made a noise resembling a groan, and it took effort to keep from rubbing myself against her hip.

  She reached down and grasped my hand stopping it. My heart did a double-beat. Did she want me to stop?

  “I need you inside me now.”

  Those six words cracked me open like an egg, my heart spilling out. I couldn’t answer so I simply shifted my weight and drew her knees apart with my own. Cradled against her body, I could have stayed that way forever.

  “I wanted to be a good person,” I whispered, as I watched, somewhat detached as I notched my cock at her entrance.

  I glanced up at her as I fit just the head in, waiting, ensure she wanted me to continue.

  She gave me a little smile, and I finished it, sliding inside her wet heat in one smooth thrust.

  She sucked in a breath and I gathered her up, one arm supporting her head, the other under the arch of her back. “Are you okay?”

  “MMhmmm, just give me a minute here.”

  I nodded and dropped a nibble on her shoulder before trailing my lips to her ear. Distraction. I traced a triad of freckles on the outside of her earlobe with my tongue and she gasped. Not helping me stay in control.

  She wrapped her hands around my shoulders. “Okay, go.”

  There was nothing to do but laugh. She took my breath away. I surged out of her slowly, making small movements, careful not to go too far.

  She let out a heavy breath against my collarbone as if she had been holding it. “That's nice.”

  “I should do the magic now.”

  She dropped her chin down to meet my eyes. “Now, right now? There isn’t a better time?”

  “Well, to be fair, I don’t know how much control I’ll be able to maintain after I make you come. I won’t be able to stop.”

  She swallowed. “Is that …”

  “I have to make you come in order to make it work.”

  “What kind of weird shit is that?”

  I laughed again, clutching her tight in a hug. “Shifters have natural shields, built over years of life. The older a shifter is, the stronger the shield. At the moment of orgasm your shield will drop, for a fraction of a second. Long enough for me to coax that spark in you to life.”

  “I guess there are worse ways to do things.” She smiled, dipping her head for a quick kiss. “Do your thing.”

  I reached between us and grazed her swollen clit with my middle finger. I could stay inside her but I needed to make her come fast before I lost control of my abilities.

  She gasped and her body tightened around my cock. Every part of me wanted to move in and out of her but I held still and it took seconds for her to hips to start arching into mine, riding me from below. I dropped my forehead down, continuing to massage her clit.

  “You need to come,” I whispered. “I don’t think I can hold out much longer.”

  She rocked up, her movements growing faster and shallower, until she let out a long exhale and her pussy spasmed around my cock. I outlined the pattern of freckles across the top of breasts, counting them, holding onto my control by mere threads, before her orgasm began to recede and I closed my eyes to make her greatest wish come true.

  Chapter Five

  He dropped his head to the bed and for a moment I feared I’d hurt him. Pleasure continued to spark along my nerve endings until...

  Something jolted through me. Like an electric current from head to toe. It wasn’t unpleasant, then heat followed, waves of heat, washing over me with only seconds between. I closed my eyes, battling against it.

  “No, don’t fight it. Let it wash through you.”

  I latched onto his voice holding it my mind as I relaxed against him. When the waves stopped, and I opened my eyes to peer at him. Something dark and animal in there and for the first time it didn’t scare me. It was as if part of me, something inside of me, recognized that deep darkness that matched my own.

  “You will shift,” he said, his voice deep and throaty. “But first, I’m going to fuck you. I can’t hold out any longer.”

  I nodded. He didn’t wait a second, shifting his weight before pressing into me deep, stopping where I ended.

  He slid out again, and I watched his face, so beautiful, slack in pleasure.

  “Touch yourself,” he said, moving faster. I circled my clit and the first pull of another orgasm sparked again. This man would make me come a second time. I matched his pace as she pressed into me, stretching me, the pain of it only sweetening the sensation.

  He let out a groan, ducking his head to rest near my neck. His teeth sank into the tender flesh under my ear and he surged into me again. As his muscles clenched, the sensation of him coming inside me set me off all over again. I spiraled into the pleasure this time and he continued fucking me until I relaxed, reality returning.

  He shifted his weight off me and got up, the cold chill replaced the heat of him and I reached out. “Come back, you’re warm.”

  He chuckled from the bathroom and returned seconds later to clean me off with a warm wet rag. I watched him carefully. His face told me nothing, but he touched me with a reverence I’d only seen in my parents. I kept my eyes on him, watching as he returned the rag to the bathroom before sliding in the bed next to me to gather me into his arms.

  The realization hit
me. At the moment I’d been lost to him but now...

  “Will I shift?”

  I lay my head on top of his bicep to face him.

  “You will if you want. Do you know how? Did they try to teach you before you learned you couldn’t?”

  I shook my head. “No, no one tried. Everyone in my family makes their first shift involuntarily.”

  “Under what circumstances?”

  “Shock, fear, usually not a good emotion, but never anything dangerous.”

  He nodded and removed his arm from under my head and went for the phone.

  I sat up. What the hell was he doing?

  He picked it up, but only held it.

  “I need to explain to you first what to expect.”

  “Okay?” I twisted around so I could sit cross-legged in the rumpled bedding.

  “When the power touches you, it will feel like it did before: the warm waves of heat. The reason you haven’t been able to shift is because you’re not the same as the rest of them. You are part of the pack, of course, but you weren’t able to shift, and they couldn’t show you, because you aren’t the same, you are what our theology calls a Therianthrope. A shifting form given by the goddess herself, to transform into any animal.”

  I knew he was speaking English. I understood his words perfectly but the shock of hearing them set my heart beating hard. “So...”

  “So you can turn into any creature you want. But, to change you need to focus on it. Channel it into you. Close your eyes and do it.”

  I took a long draw of air and settled in. Only one animal came to my mind, I focused on it, the silk of feathers under my fingers, the razor sharpness of its claws. But ... nothing.

  I popped an eye open. “Not working.”

  He smiled, pressed a button on his phone, and held it to his ear. A murmur was all that reached me until Raven answered. “Mr. Blackshadow. This is Raven Wildspark. I would like to set up a time with you so we can discuss me marrying your daughter.”

  It happened all at once. Everything inside me moved and twisted until the world grew larger around me.

  He hung up the phone and stared down at me, so much larger than before. He held out his hand, and I nipped his thumb with my beak.

  “Very funny.”

  I climbed onto his hand. My legs weren’t my own and yet I felt the same, I felt like me, only in a smaller package.

  He lifted me to eye height. “I didn’t really call your dad. I called my voice messaging service.”

  I wanted to let out a fling of curses but nothing came out. I focused on that thought and he caught me mid-shift back into a woman. His warm arms wrapped around me and I answered with a smack to the side of his face. “Don’t you ever do that to me again.”

  He lay me down, grabbed my palm, and bit the edge of my palm before collapsing beside me. “The manifestation of your shift is inherited. I had to do something to help you get there. I promised, remember?”

  I stretched up, inviting him for a kiss. He claimed my mouth as thoroughly as he’d claimed by body. I lay my head against his bicep, curling around him.

  With his arms wrapped around me I drifted, knowing he’d catch me no matter what.

  Epilogue

  I woke to a raven nuzzling my face with her silky feathers. She hopped backward as I sat up. My hand ran over a piece of paper and I rubbed my eyes clear before I could read it.

  Raven,

  You are wonderful. It’s time to face the music. Come to my house at 4pm today to meet my parents. I’ll try to explain before then. In about five minutes three big men will be pounding down the door as we are supposed to be on a train at 9am. When my brothers barge in, and they will, hand me over to them as I am now. That will keep them quiet and get them out of your hair fast.

  Malina

  P.S. Save our ribbon for me.

  I smiled down at her and ran my hand softly down her back. It touched me that she’d chosen a raven as her first shift, and again this morning. I liked the idea of being in her head.

  A pounding came from the outer room and I slipped on a pair of workout pants that were lay across a chair.

  I picked Malina up carefully letting her balance on my forearm for stability.

  The pounding grew louder, and I jerked the door open. Malina’s brothers jerked backward a step. At least they still feared me.

  “Where is our sister,” Mikael demanded, then added, “Sir?”

  I smiled and lifted my arm out to him. All three of them stared agape at the raven until Mikael held his arm out to take her.

  “She might need to go to her room and get something to change into. I doubt she wants to take the train that way.”

  Malina nipped Josh’s hand when he tried to touch her. He was the first to laugh. “Yup, that’s her alright ... but how?”

  I held up my hand in the universal I’m the leader, be quiet now, gesture, that somehow worked every time. “I’ll let her explain that. I’ll be by your house at four today to discuss her and my Handfasting.”

  Malina let out a loud squawk, and I stared her down. “That’s for not letting me get you breakfast.”

  I closed the door on all of them with a smile. Today’s the day I’d bring home my mate once and for all.

  About the Author

  Monica Corwin is a writer attempting to make romance accessible to everyone, no matter his or her preference. As a Northern Ohioan, Monica enjoys snow-drifts, three seasons of weather, and a dislike of the Michigan football program. Monica spends time with her daughter and her ever growing collection of Arthurian Legend tomes when not immersed in writing her next book.

  For more information…

  @monica_corwin

  monicacorwin

  www.monicacorwin.com

  monicacorwin@outlook.com

  Masque of Deceit

  Carma Haley

  Mask of Deceit © 2017 by Carma Haley

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  About Mask of Deceit

  Tessa is a single, work-a-holic, who has no time for a social life, let along romance. In an effort to find companionship, she turns to the Internet and meets a man who sparks an interest. For their first date, Tessa invites him to her company’s annual masquerade ball thinking it might inspire some romance in her life. Brandon Connor, a man who has harbored more than an attraction to Tessa for over a year, gets his chance to make a move when Tess mistakes him for her Internet date.

  In a riveting tale of hope and deception, can Tessa find the man of her dreams? Or will one deceptive act prove too much and drive her from men all together?

  Chapter One

  I gracefully walked through a large arched doorway pausing for a moment to survey my surroundings. A sea of masks in various shapes, sizes, and vibrant colors ebbed and flowed in an astonishing display before me. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the energy of the crowd, and did my best to look as if I belonged. Nerves made it nearly impossible. I heard the thumping of my own heart echoing in my ears. Hands shaking, my mouth was dry and my tongue felt like sandpaper against my lips.

  A waiter made his way through the crowd, dressed in a crimson coat with large gold buttons, holding a large tray of crystal stemware. I waited with great anticipation as he moved closer, needing the liquor to steel my resolve. I reached out and quickly took a glass of champagne as he passed, disrupting the delicate balance, nearly causing him to spill the remaining contents to the floor.

  Feeling flustered, I made a grab for the tray attempting to prevent its contents from toppling to the floor. “Oh, my god. I am so sorry.” A flash of heat crept over my face melting down my neck. My embarrassment was now visible on my skin, curse of being a redhead.

  “Don’t worry, Miss. It happens,” he replied. His voice was dee
p and husky, both soothing and strangely evocative.

  “I don’t always—I’m not usually this clumsy.” My hands were trembling so badly the champagne in the glass quivered under my touch. I placed the cool crystal to my lips. The sweetness of the tiny bubbles filled mouth and quenched the thirst of my anxiety. It went down smoothly, and with each swallow, I felt my muscles begin to relax.

  Finishing the last, I caught the waiter’s gaze. He gave me a slow grin. “It's fine. I assure you,” he said, his voice calm and reassuring. He leaned in slightly. “A piece of advice. Always take a full glass from near the center, and replace an empty glass on the outside edge.”

  I examined the tray as he held it with precision. The crystal champagne flutes shimmered and they were arranged as if in assigned positions. I looked up as he took a full glass from the tray and offered it to me. Giving me a nod and a sweet smile, he waited.

  “Thank you,” I said, taking it from his hand. Within a few seconds, he had disappeared into the crowd. I sipped on my champagne and again scanned the ocean of color, admiring the diversity of the guests. My eyes were drawn to a large man standing near the center of the room. He was wearing a mask made entirely of metal that reflected light like a polished mirror. Several women surrounded him, each of them touching and caressing him.

  Wow. All those women are really trying hard to get his attention. He must be a celebrity or something.

  Noticing an open high top table across the room, I tried to move quickly without looking as if I was in a hurry. As I reached my destination, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Taking one last drink, I placed my small green handbag and the champagne glass on the smooth marbled surface, happy to have my hands free.