Once inside, the aromas of brewing coffee, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon struck her in full force, and she inhaled them deeply. Sophie loved this time of year.
The shops were filled with people; just like in Raglan, there were costumed children everywhere, and many of the stores had employees standing out front with bowls of candy to pass out. In the center of the mall there was a photobooth, a face-painting station, and several games set up for the kids. Black and orange posters announced a costume contest that afternoon.
It’d been a long time since Sophie was around so many people. At first, it induced a sense of claustrophobia, and she feared an impending attack. But the laughter, smiles, and relaxed attitude soon eased her anxiety. Everyone was having fun, and she didn’t have bruises, black eyes, or split lips to worry about someone noticing. She was free from that.
She went into several stores in her search for the perfect thing to wear for Cruce. She discovered it in the last apparel shop she visited. It was a long, black satin nightgown with two thin straps and a bodice trimmed with lace leaves that was sure to show off some cleavage. The color reminded her of Cruce.
Sophie smirked. It was Halloween; what better a costume for her gothic wedding night?
She purchased some make up from another shop and couldn’t resist her first pumpkin spice latte of the season as she left.
Her excitement only grew on the drive home. A new idea occurred to her when she reached Raglan; she could make dinner for Cruce. He’d be mortal tonight. That meant he could eat, right?
Sophie blushed. If he had half the stamina in his physical form that he did as a shade, there wouldn’t be any time to eat.
She stopped at the grocery store and ran inside, picking up a few things to throw together just in case. She pulled her cart into Doris’s lane and piled her items on the belt.
“You look like you have something exciting planned tonight,” Doris said with a cheeky smile.
Sophie returned the smile. “I do.”.
Doris gave her the eye. “A man, I take it?”
Not exactly…
Sophie chuckled at her own thought and nodded. “Yeah. Kind of…our first date.”
Doris bagged Sophie’s groceries and rang up the total. “Pretty girl like you? I’m surprised you’re not already snatched up.”
Sophie’s smile faltered. She pulled out a couple twenties and handed them to Doris. “Not very lucky, I guess.”
Doris winked as she gave Sophie her change. “Let’s hope you get lucky tonight.”
Cheeks burning, Sophie laughed. “I think I will.”
As she stepped outside, the hairs on the back of her neck rose, and a shudder traveled down her spine. The sensation was similar to what she’d felt on her first day at the cabin, but this time it seemed…wrong. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and turned her head to scan the nearby pallets of wood pellets and ice melt. There was no one there.
Sophie dug out her phone as she walked to her car and dialed Kate.
“Hey! Are you in town?” Kate asked after accepting the call. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, Kate. I just wanted to check in real quick.” She switched the phone to her other hand as she checked the back seat of her car, opened the driver’s door, and slid inside. “Is he still there?”
There was a several second delay. “His car is still there. I haven’t seen him leave for a while.”
Sophie released a long, relieved breath. “Thank you.”
“Always.”
Sophie switched to speaker phone and set down her cell. “So, you’re going out for the first time with Steve tonight, right?” she asked as she started the car, backed out of her parking spot, and shifted into drive.
“Well…not the first time.”
“You already went out with him!”
“Yes! Work’s been really hectic this week — we have a client who really screwed up their bookkeeping — and I’ve been putting in extra hours. So, Steve took me out to try to give me a chance to unwind a little. That’s part of why I missed your calls the other day…” Kate sighed heavily. “And then I got onto you for not answering. God, I’m such a shitty friend.”
“No! Kate, no. You’re wonderful,” Sophie said as she turned onto the highway. “I wouldn’t even be here right now if it weren’t for you. You can’t feel responsible for me like that. You have your own life to live.”
“But Tyler—”
“You can’t put your life on hold for me, Kate. I’ll be fine. I…met someone, too.”
“What? Really? Who? Why am I just now hearing about this?”
“It’s…still too new. I don’t want to say too much until I know for sure.” But Sophie knew already — Cruce was hers. There was just no way she could explain to Kate who and what Cruce was. Hell, she couldn’t even give Kate his name. “Tell me more about Steve.”
“Oh, Sophie, I think he’s the one! He is the kindest, sweetest, most considerate man I’ve ever met. It doesn’t hurt that he’s packing, if you know what I mean.”
Sophie gasped. “Did you?”
“Best sex of my life!”
Sophie laughed.
“And his kids?” Kate continued. “They’re adorable!”
They talked for a little longer until the connection got staticky. Sophie said a quick goodbye just before the signal dropped completely.
Once she made it home, she collected her purchases and went inside. Cruce wouldn’t come until that night; he’d told her the daytime leading up to the full moon was particularly draining to him, and he needed time to prepare himself. She guessed it was a delicate way of saying that he needed to spend his time feeding to gather his strength.
Sophie prepped the food and stored it in the fridge; it would be ready toss in the oven if the opportunity arose.
She took a long, luxuriating shower before carefully applying her makeup. She kept it light and natural, just enough to make her eyes stand out, and after a bit of indecision, decided to keep her hair loose and flowing.
Stepping out of the bathroom in a towel, Sophie entered her room and lifted the nightgown off the bed. In hindsight, it wasn’t the most practical thing to wear on a cool autumn night, but no matter what she wore, she doubted it’d be on for long.
And she’d have Cruce to keep her warm.
Sophie bit her lip and squeezed her thighs together. Just the thought of feeling his warm, strong touch made her sex pulse in need.
Soon.
Removing the tag from the garment, Sophie pulled it over her head. The fabric whispered over her skin like a silken caress. She turned to her dresser mirror. Her pale skin stood out against the black material, especially in the deep-cut V bustline. She spun, laughing, and joy shone bright in her dark eyes as she met her own gaze in the mirror. When was the last time she’d felt beautiful?
“Cruce,” she said, thrilling in the feel of his name on her lips. Her lover.
Now, all she had to do was wait.
Minutes felt like hours, and hours felt like days. She’d passed the time pacing and glancing out the window over and over, taking several brief breaks to check her makeup and hair. The wait was excruciating; all she wanted was for the damned sun to fall, even though she knew it was just one part of the equation.
She’d checked the charts — moonrise was twenty minutes after sunset.
Her anticipation reached a new peak when the final rays of sunlight finally left the evening sky, dropping the forest outside into gloomy twilight. She turned off the inside lights so she could see through the windows and continued pacing, eyes darting frequently to the clock. What if the charts were wrong? What if this didn’t work out how they wanted it to?
Sophie shook off her doubts. When the clock said it was five minutes until moonrise, she couldn’t help herself — she rushed outside and hurried off the porch, ignoring the chill in the air as she dashed barefoot across the driveway, over vegetation and fallen leaves, toward the forest. Heart pounding, she stop
ped before crossing the tree line and searched the shadows for Cruce.
Only her frantic heartbeat marked the passage of time. The leaves overhead sighed in a crisp breeze that chilled her exposed skin, but inside she was already ablaze. Gradually, silver light touched the violet sky between the branches, and she caught her first glimpse of the round, bright moon between the boughs of two trees.
She dropped her gaze and scanned the woods. Every shadow bristled with possibility, every hint of movement bore unspoken promise, every shaft of soft light could’ve been the one in which he would appear.
A snapping branch startled Sophie. She swung her gaze toward the sound to find herself looking down the old path, the same one she’d followed on the night Cruce had made himself known to her. Perhaps a hundred feet away, a large shadow loomed in the center of the path. As it approached her, its details grew clear — a humanoid shape with huge antlers and wide shoulders.
The volume of her heart beat increased, filling her ears, drowning out all other sounds.
The advancing shadow passed into a patch of silver light, and Sophie’s breath hitched. It was her first glimpse of Cruce as he had been, as he was always meant to be.
His long, many-pointed antlers swept up and backward from pale, shimmering hair that hung around his broad shoulders. His eyes gleamed silver with reflected light, set in a face that was at once elfin, masculine, and bestial. Strands of his hair were tucked behind pointed ears that reminded her of a deer’s. Her eyes lingered on his full lips, which promised wicked delights, before dipping lower.
Cruce’s torso was powerful, sculpted muscle, the ridges and contours accentuated by the deep shadows cast by the moonlight. His expansive shoulders and chest tapered down to a narrow waist, where the muscles of his abs dipped toward his pelvis in an enticing, arousing V. His thick, strong arms swung casually at his sides, ending in large hands with claw-tipped fingers. Shaggy white fur began just above his hips, continuing down his long legs, from between which jutted his partially erect cock.
Sophie released a slow exhalation; his long, thick shaft ended in a bulbous head. She squeezed her thighs together against a sudden surge of lust.
As he lifted his leg in his graceful stride, she could not ignore the cloven hoof at its end.
Sophie drew her eyes back up to meet his. He had to be nearly seven feet tall, even taller if she counted his antlers.
“Cruce,” she whispered.
His footfalls were startlingly quiet as he closed the remaining distance between them. For an instant, she was aware of the immense heat radiating from him, and then he swept her into his arms, lifted her off her feet, and pressed his lips to hers.
Sophie gasped, and he took advantage of her parted lips to deepen the kiss. His tongue slipped into her mouth to explore its depths, to taste her, and she responded in kind. She raised her arms and looped them around his neck. His warmth flowed into her; his hands were like branding irons, running over her back, shoulders, and ass, drawing her ever closer.
Her desire was a blazing inferno, blistering hot. When she moaned against his lips, Cruce growled, and the sound vibrated to her core. Overwhelming need, unlike anything she’d ever felt, tore through her, clouding her mind to everything but Cruce.
Her mate.
Her dark lover.
Chapter 12
Cruce clutched Sophie’s warm, soft body against him, unable to keep his hands from roaming over her. Though he’d never known it, this was the moment he’d awaited since before he was ever cursed, since before he’d ever met the fae queen, since the day he’d come into existence. Josephine Davis had always been the thing he was meant to desire above all else. She was woven into his being, she was the thread the completed the tapestry of his fate. She was his.
Her shimmering gown looked lovely, but it was an unacceptable barrier between Cruce and her bare flesh. His need to touch her, to feel and taste her, had grown immensely in the days he’d known her, and he could not deny himself now. He had one night with her, one night to imprint himself upon her soul and emblazon her forever into his memory. There was no way to know if she’d be here the next time his curse allowed him physical form; human lives were so fleeting, so delicate…
Were he not trapped in this mortal form, separated from his magic, he’d have granted her a portion of his life force just to ensure she’d be awaiting him when next the full moon rose on All Hallows Eve.
But this was not the time to reflect upon the reasons. He would spend this night enjoying every moment they could share to the fullest. This sample of her was sublime, but he craved a more complete taste.
Inhaling deeply her sweet, satisfying scent, Cruce knelt on the forest floor. He leaned forward and laid Sophie on a bed of fallen leaves, guiding her arms away from his neck. Without hesitation, he grasped the material of her gown and tore it apart down the middle, exposing her pale skin to the night air.
Sophie gasped, kiss-swollen lips parting as her eyes flared. His gaze trailed down the length of her body. Her breasts, tipped with hard, pink nipples, rose and fell with quick breaths. He’d taste those soon enough, but first, he needed a deeper taste…
The final barrier between them was an arousing scrap of black lace covering her sex. Cruce lowered his head and breathed in the fragrance of her desire, which was undiminished by the material. It filled his senses, mixing with her lavender and vanilla aroma. Her scent was a hundred times stronger than it had been in his shade form. He stiffened, his muscles tensing, and his lips drew back, bearing his fangs in a snarl. His cock extended fully from its sheath, granite hard and throbbing, aching to be buried deep in Sophie’s little body, to feel her heat clench tight around it.
“Ah, Sophie. My Josephine…”
The female laid out before him, his mate, was primed and ready. His every instinct was to turn her onto her hands and knees, mount her, and wildly rut until they were both too exhausted to move — and then take her again.
Hooking the lacy fabric at each of her hips, he tore it apart, tossing the pieces aside, and spread Sophie’s legs wide. His eyes fell upon her exposed sex. She was pink and petite, her delicate folds glistening with arousal.
Cruce dropped his head and buried his face between her thighs, running the length of his long tongue from the bottom to the top of her sex, flicking her clit. She bucked her hips and released a cry. Her sweetness filled his mouth, ambrosial and heady, a natural aphrodisiac that made his cock ache for her all the more.
“Cruce!” Her voice was music in the twilight, and she followed his name with a series of breathy moans as she writhed atop the leaves.
He curled his arms beneath her legs and gripped her hips, pulling her closer and holding her in place, allowing no escape as he ravaged her with his tongue. He nipped her folds, explored her depths, and learned what his lovely mate enjoyed most by the motions of her body and the sounds escaping her lips.
Finally, Cruce latched onto her clit and sucked. She screamed and grasped his antlers with both hands. He growled against her, unrelenting, as she ground herself against his mouth in abandon. Sophie’s scent strengthened as fresh nectar flowed from her. He released her clit and lowered his tongue, lapping at her sex before delving inside. Her inner walls fluttered, forcing another gush of nectar directly into his mouth. He drank it greedily.
Cruce did not still his tongue until most of the tension had fled her body and her cries had diminished into gentle moans. He pulled his face back to lick the moisture from her legs. Faint tremors coursed through her. Sophie’s every reaction was a thrill to him; she’d released her inhibitions and offered herself to him without hesitation, without doubt, and for that she deserved everything he could give to her in return.
He eased her legs to either side of him and flattened a hand on her stomach.
How would she look with her belly rounded, carrying his offspring?
The thought sparked a need in him far more primal and instinctual than any he’d experienced up to that moment; he would do
all he could to ensure his seed took root.
He dropped a hand to the ground beside her head and met her gaze. Her eyes, half-lidded and dark with desire, stared up at him. She raised her arms, trailing her fingertips over his face. She touched his lips, his nose, his brow, and his ears, until she finally delved her fingers into his hair and pulled him down into a kiss. He groaned and returned the kiss, coaxing her tongue into a brief dance with his.
Tearing his mouth from hers, Cruce repositioned his hips and took his cock in hand. It pulsed with excruciating need. He pressed the head of his shaft to her center and thrust. Her gasp was sharp and sweet, as was the pain in his scalp as she tugged his hair.
“Sophie,” he grated. He pulled his hips back and pushed again and again, easing himself deeper into her with every pump, urged on by her breathy moans and the sound of his name from her lips. Blissful heat enwrapped him.
Cold and darkness had built within him during his curse; though the years had been relatively few compared to his long existence, their toll had been immense. He’d not known the touch of a lover in almost two centuries. He’d not known true warmth in all that time. He could not fight his needs. Perhaps with anyone else, but not with his Josephine. And now that he had her he could not hold himself back.
Snarling, he braced his hands on the ground to either side of her, withdrew, and slammed back into her body. He didn’t stop, didn’t pause, didn’t falter; he increased his speed, surging into and out of her again and again.
Sophie clung to him, her blunt nails biting into his arms as a series of sharp cries escaped her. His claws dug grooves in the dirt, and he growled, needing a deeper connection, needing more of her.
Gathering her in his arms, he sat back without pulling out of her body and positioned her to straddle his lap. Her dark, sultry eyes met his, and everything fell into place. She was his. Body and soul.
Settling his hands on her hips, he lifted and lowered her over his cock, thrusting his pelvis to meet her with increasing force. Her lashes fluttered, and she tilted her head back.
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