by JL Madore
He stretched, his skin glistening, the sheets slightly damp beneath him. “Aye, it does feel decadently domestic. If we could avoid the life and death struggles that generally come after we get outta bed, that would be even better.”
“Agreed.”
Reaching between us, he removed the elastic from my braid and freed my hair. I turned to give him greater access, relishing in the touch of his fingers combing along my scalp and through my locks.
“From the moment I first laid eyes on ye, I knew things would never be the same. Ye turned my life on it’s head, Lia. And though ye don’t see it yet, yer just as strong, brave and heroic as any of the women ye look up to.”
I slid my arms around him and pulled him over me.
He winced a bit and caught his breath.
“Apologies. Are you terribly sore?” I lessened my hold, running my fingers over the scabs and bruises marring his back. “How I wish your injuries were healed so we could make love. I need you so desperately.”
A dark masculine musk filled my sinuses and he lowered his lips to my neck. “What injuries? I’m good if you are.” He moistened his swollen lips, his mouth just inches from mine.
“But you are recovering.”
“I’m plenty healed up.”
It was impossible to say who lunged first, but in one sweeping move our lips fused, Samuel’s arms grappled around me. The sculptured muscles of his chest pressed against the wild beat of my heart. As he licked his way into my mouth, I tried to remember to be gentle.
I encouraged him to roll upon me but as he had done each time we joined, he resisted and found another position.
“Samuel,” I said, breaking from his kiss. “Why will you not lay over me? I want the weight of you upon me, the thrust of your strength behind you. Is there something I am doing or not doing? I hope you would tell me if I am not—”
He silenced my words with his kiss. “Yer perfect, Luv. I just . . . it’s only.” He pulled back to consider his words, sadness clouding his expression. “I dinnae want to trigger any thoughts of what came before. I want ye to see and feel me inside ye, not battle with the ghosts of grief for the other.”
“My protector e’ermore.” I pulled him over me and opened my legs to allow him space to settle. He accepted his weight on his elbows, his hips cradled between my thighs. “My precious male, there is no likeness to confuse. And as much as I appreciate your caution, you promised to take me rough so I would never forget how you crave me.”
He chuckled, his laughter vibrating flesh to flesh with marvelous friction. “That was meant to be more threat than promise.”
I gripped the muscled rounds of his backside and dug my nails into his flesh. “Dude, nice ass.”
Samuel burst out laughing. The joyful abandon of the sound squeezed my heart but I refused to let the hopelessness of our situation ruin this moment.
We were together. For this moment, we were together.
“Samuel, mark me. Claim me. I never want to forget how you feel inside me.” The rasp in my voice surprised me. I nuzzled his neck, his skin warm against my cheek. Running my nails up his sides, I circled his nipples. “I want more of you. More kissing, more of your hands on my flesh, more of you everywhere.”
The succulence of Samuel’s need charged the air. Desperate and wanton, lust overpowered his usual masculine musk. And it was all for me. My eyes rolled closed, my head swimming with the aphrodisiac.
Indescribably caught in my wizard’s spell.
I arched against him. His hips eased forward, his erection inside me a welcome stretching of flesh. “Gods, I love the feel of you moving inside me.”
“It’s where I belong, mo chridhe. My home.”
I sank deeper into the pillows, memorizing as many of the sensations as I could absorb. The sway and pump of his hips. The way he drew his tongue down the column of my neck. The thrill of his erection probing deep inside me. The erotic sounds he made when utterly consumed.
I committed every nuance to memory. For though we were the only two in the world at that moment, our time together was limited. I was Abaddon’s mate.
Samuel stilled beside me. “Hey, where’d ye go?” Raising his fingers to my mouth, he shook his head. “Nevermind, dinnae answer that. Tonight, will come soon enough. Tuck yer Elven logic away and live in this moment.”
My heart ached for this to last forever, to be the beginning of something magical and not the end. “Samuel, do something for me.”
“Anything,” he whispered against my neck. “Name it.”
“Call me Ryanne. I wish for you to be the male to have my soul name. My mate of choice.”
Samuel stilled. He had studied Highborne customs and laws for weeks. I hoped he understood what my request meant. It was the most precious gift I could give him.
“Ryanne,” he said, his soft Scottish brogue rolling off the ‘R’ so it sounded like a caress. “An exquisite name, for my exquisite female. I’m honored, my beloved Ryanne.”
The speaking of my name rang some invisible bell within me. A wave of heat burst through my cells. My body tensed, squeezing in sudden greediness. The pleasure obliterated my ability to think or feel anything beyond the blissful oblivion of losing myself to him. His hips pressed and retreated, the friction so intense it almost hurt to ride out my release.
As my senses returned, he kissed me long and slow. Brushing errant curls back from my face. “Gods I love how your body shudders for me. Are ye all right?”
Tears threatened to overtake me, but I fought to keep the moment light. “Mayhap slightly better than all right.”
“Weel,” he said, his brogue unnaturally thick, his smile cocky, “if ye only give me slightly better than all right, I better up my game. Plenty of room to improve.”
I caressed the corded muscles of his back and urged him on. “Very well, show me what perfection feels like.”
He bit his bottom lip and nodded. “Perfection is a tall order. Might take a lot of trying.”
The entire realm fell away as the grind of his hips began in earnest. Nothing would ever feel this good again. I wanted Samuel’s silky voice, his body, his heart. He filled me with both the most indescribable strength and the most desperate vulnerability. And I would be forced to give him up.
At dusk, I ran a hand down the smooth stone column in the ancient Fae ceremonial circle. Standing in the center of a wide forest clearing on the Haven Mountain, it reminded me of the celebration site back in my village. Shaped like a horseshoe with two concentric circles made up of standing stones, lintel stones and monoliths, it stood the stage for my downfall.
Secluded, secure and its existence known to only a few who grew up on the mountain, it was the place where Galan and Jade mated and Recognized.
I hoped it might hold good fortune for me as well.
The power of the Fae gods flowed in currents underneath the site. The Ley-lines were invisible and usually undetectable but no matter how distant my tie to Castian and his Pantheon, I felt their power.
How I wish I had the power to change what would happen next. How I wish Samuel and I had remained buried beneath the silken covers and ignored the world. The entire day, we had said little while at the same time saying everything necessary with a touch, a kiss, a gaze. We never strayed from one another, always within arm’s reach, always within each other’s gaze.
But now here we were.
And here things would change forever.
Reign would speak first. He would argue the morality of Abaddon claiming me and cite the facts that I had still been a youth at the time of my abduction. He would also point out that Highborne females chose their partners. It would not matter. The mating law was absolute. Abaddon held legal right to claim me and the Fates, being who they were, would choose the course which leveled the most destruction.
It was hopeless.
The sun warmed the sky in blazing pinks and purples yet I felt none of its splendor. My heart ached.
“Dinnae wind yerself up ye
t. There is time enough before the Fates arrive.” Samuel joined me in my vigil, standing tall and handsome against the horizon. “Reign, Julian and Aust locked this place down tight. You’ll be safe. I dinnae want ye worrying about that on top of anything else.”
I drew what breath I could and smiled. “What would make me feel safest is falling into your arms and letting you banish my fears with your lips and your hips. I suppose that is out of the question?”
His smile melted me. “Yer brother will blow a gasket if he finds out we’ve been sleeping together.”
“I think that fact alone would inspire you to accept.”
We chuckled, our words reminiscent of the conversation when we first agreed to work together for Jade’s sake.
“How far we’ve come, aye?” He moved behind me, setting his chin atop my head. “I dinnae regret a moment. No matter how brief our encounter, yer soul has marked mine for life. No one will ever—could ever—touch that.”
The male knew what I needed to hear.
At the rustling of scrub, Samuel’s grip tightened on my upper arms. My Highborne family emerged from the tree line and he loosened his hold. Galan, Iadon and Nyssa, Aust and Elora, and Tham and Cameron strode out as one. Their grace and strength in motion remained something humans could never match.
I forced myself to step away from the warmth of Samuel’s body and jogged to my family. I hugged those who lived and nodded to the two spirits who joined them.
Elora took my hand in hers and Nyssa followed suit. Oh, how I missed these females since moving to the Dens and then to the Silver Citadel.
I squeezed their holds. “If a family is comprised of the people you love most, the gods blessed me beyond measure. Without your support, I would be far more lost than I am. I love you all.”
“As we love you, sweeting,” Elora said. “No matter what is said or decided today, we stand with you.”
Though I wished that changed things, hearing the words still helped.
“The wolves are in place along the tree line,” Aust said. “Hawks and osprey are sweeping the forest. Whatever happens, we are prepared.”
I kissed his cheek. “I have no doubt. Please extend my gratitude to your creatures if I am unable.”
Galan frowned and moved in to kiss my temple. “After the Fates dismiss Abaddon’s claim, we shall thank Aust’s creatures together. Mayhap with a celebration run. It has been ages since we took to the forest together.”
I looked at what Iadon carried and smiled. “Is that it?”
“Crafted with all my love,” Iadon said, dipping his chin and presenting me with a garment bag. “A queen must needs look the part. A queen taking on a realm in conflict such as this must needs be that much more prepared.”
“I suppose it is time to prepare. Ladies, will you help me?”
A short while later, I stood before Elora and Nyssa, my heart racing. With my transformation complete, I was stricken with second thoughts. “Have I made a terrible error in judgment? Speak only truth, what do you think?”
“You are resplendent,” Elora said. “A child no longer, you look every bit a female of power.”
“I agree,” Nyssa said, tilting her head this way and that as she shaped the last locks of my hair against my mid back. “If this were my first time meeting you, I would take you for a self-possessed, confident female to be reckoned with.”
I adjusted the ice blue corset and marveled at Iadon’s talent. “Do you think it wise to assume this persona now? Mayhap playing the innocent maiden might be wiser?”
“You are Queen of the Realm,” Nyssa said. “Show the Fates that the innocent maiden of a year ago is gone. This is the female you are now.”
I strode a small circuit in front of the wolves. Faolan pushed her head into my palm. I buried my fingers into the depths of her thick silver coat, her ebony ears peaked and pointing to the sky. “And what say you, my friends? Do you recognize me?”
The wolves sniffed the air but alluded to nothing.
Holy-fricken-shamoly, Gemma said, tromping silently through the brush to join us. Nicely done, girlfriend. You’ll either knock’em dead by heart attack or you can beat them with your dominatrix stick. Cool accessory.
I pointed my scepter at her and grinned. Clasping the bronze grips, I swung it over my head. It spun like a helicopter blade within my hands, aerodynamics causing it to sing through the air. “Savage crafted and weighted it for me.”
Stand back, Jackie Chan.
I laughed though I had no idea who that might be. “I failed miserably in all other weapons training. Wielding a staff seemed my only almost skill. There is much to learn yet I feel less vulnerable with it in my hand.”
Then go with it. Ooo, I like these metal vines. Very Elfy.
Elfy? I turned the staff in the waning light so she could examine the intricate leaf and vine work. The detailing wound up the shaft, encircled the edges of the grips, and secured the crescent moon sigil at the top.
“By the gods,” Samuel gasped, coming into the mix. He stopped dead when he saw my attire, a mix of emotions flashing across his face.
My ladies-in-waiting giggled and left us to ourselves.
I ran a hand down the flat of my bare stomach to the waistband of my form-fitting pants. “Do I look all right?”
He took in the midnight blue suede of my pants and long jacket, its high collar and my hair hanging unbound. His expression remained guarded until he eyed the corset. His brow pinched, his frown subtle but unmistakable.
I rubbed my chest, a little light-headed. “I . . . uh, wanted Castian’s brand to show and learned this week that skirts were a detriment if one must needs defend oneself. I also wanted to rid myself of the image of a youth. I thought if I—”
“Ye steal my breath.” The smile he gave me was far too private for the proximity of my family. “I’m just not accustomed to anyone else seeing ye look so . . .” His face screwed up and he sighed. “A lot of yer skin is showing and yer . . . um, attributes are quite pronounced without the layers of skirts and full bodice and such.”
“You hate it.”
“No, yer spectacular. It’s just . . .” He whetted his lips. “Ye see, until now, I was the only one who had the pleasure of eyeing yer feminine form.”
I looked down at myself. “Mayhap I should change back into what I wore earlier.”
He shook his head, looking abashed. “Absolutely not. Never second guess yerself because of someone else, including me. It’s my issue. I’ll deal with it. Yer stunning. Other men are bound to notice it. How do ye feel? Ye’ve never worn pants, have ye?”
“No, and it is odd. Light. I feel rather naked actually.”
He leaned close and smiled. “I’ve seen ye naked and this does nae come close to that beautiful sight. That much, at least, I can claim for myself, aye?”
“Aye,” I said, waving away his laughter at my imitation of his accent. “Naked is yours and yours alone as long as I retain any say in the matter.”
Samuel’s laughter died. We both knew that choice would be taken from me very soon. “Come, Luv, I want to see yer brother’s face when he sees ye like this. I bet he turns seven shades of red, right to the tips of his ears.”
By the time the sun sank toward the horizon, the tightening in my chest had increased to the point of near suffocation. The certainty of impending doom choked me as I fought to hold my control. The boon to Elven logic was that I could see the truth. What would be would be. It was in the hands of the gods and there was little to be done except wait. My anxiety had yet to face that truth.
With Faolan at my side, I made one last circuit of the standing stones. Rounding the far monolith I called upon Mika’s Earth Mother and asked for her guidance. It seemed fitting to enlist all the help I could get.
I stopped when Faolan’s shoulders tensed and her lupine gaze swung to the altar stone.
Castian and the Fates arrived.
Samuel and Galan both glanced to me and I nodded. It was time to accept fat
e’s journey. And I would. Whatever came.
“How you holding up, Miss Caleblasse?” The velvet voice carried from the trees as a young male eased into my path. It took me a moment to recognize the handsome blond from Jade’s class, the one who got Samuel and I started off the first day with his question.
“Tanner, is it?”
He nodded and stopped before me. “I wanted to catch you before the proceedings to wish you luck.”
Odd that he knew about the hearing, let alone the location it was being held. Still, it was a kind thought. “Gratitude, though with the Fates’ arrival, I must needs go.”
He shook his head and his feathered hair fell back into place as if trained for a lifetime to do so. “In a minute. I need to speak to you. It will only take a sec.”
After a glance past my shoulder, he stepped closer. “I wanted to speak to you for some time, but the Professor was always hovering. Then you stopped coming to class altogether.”
I drew a deep breath. Just the smell of male attraction. During past lectures, I caught him looking at me more than once. “Yes, well, life’s journey has taken Professor Murray and me in unexpected directions.”
“Are you and the Professor . . .” Tanner waggled his brow.
The impertinence of the question warmed my ears. “Samuel is a dear friend who watches over me.”
“Because he’s your garda síochána?”
I balked and froze. The scent of male attraction remained but that was all the air held. No woody growth of the trees, no cool richness of the earth, not even the scent of Faolan’s coat or the newly tanned suede of my outfit. Why? What was happening? Was it magic?
“Samuel is a friend,” I repeated with what I hoped was an easy smile. I gripped my scepter tighter. “And speaking of him, it is quite rude of me to keep him waiting and the others waiting. If you would excuse me.”
Tanner gripped my arm and took two quick steps forcing us from direct view of the clearing. With the rough bark of an ancient oak at my back, he raised his other arm so I was trapped within the cage of his body.