Initiation

by Paula Millhouse

  Relief washed over his beautiful face. “There’s nothing we can’t accomplish if you’re by my side, but I need all of you. Why are you holding back?”

  He bored his gaze into mine. I could honestly get lost in the depths of his eyes, but did I really want to ’fess up, here and now? Did I want him to know I didn’t trust him not to leave me? “If I do this, if I give myself to you and you leave me . . .”

  “I’m not going anywhere, Sam.”

  His words rattled me. He couldn’t mean it. Not really. They were just words spoken in the heat of passion. Could I afford to lose myself in his desire for me and come out whole on the other side? I wanted to. Damn, I wanted to so bad. . . .

  “We have a few sacred hours together, maybe less.”

  I nodded.

  “Let’s make it count.”

  Again, I nodded, drawn to him by an instinct I didn’t want to deny. Could I lose myself in Max’s arms? And if I did, would I live to regret it? He leaned his head closer to mine, and his warm, generous pink lips were mine for the taking. I swept my head up toward his, searching his face with my lips, needing release from all this awful angst.

  But instead of kissing me, he grasped my body in his arms, then pulled me up from the soft, promising bed, and towed me out of the room.

  Max

  MAX LED SAM out of the bedroom, down the hall, and into an oversized sand-colored bathroom across the hall. Yes, Rosencratz was holding hostages, and yes, once he got his claws around her neck, he’d likely kill her, if he could beat Sam off her first. Damn Shade. He could question Rosencratz in hell if he needed to.

  But one thing was for certain. Once this mission was over, he planned to steal away with Sam. No question about it.

  He grimaced, and fisted his free hand. He knew as well as she did that would never work. There was no escape from the HWB. He would have to join the ranks as a newbie, because their lives would never work out if he refused to enlist in the service.

  “Damn all this. All we have is tonight, right now, and we’re not gonna sit around twiddling our thumbs until the witches arrive,” he said.

  Sam nodded. “What do you have in mind?”

  “What we should have done when we got here instead of messing with black magic. Shower, then I’m going to make love to you.”

  It was the damndest thing. Once she focused in on Rosencratz earlier in the circle, he could feel the witch’s evil seeping through him like a disease, but Sam had pulled him back by wielding the power of Atlantis. He wouldn’t make that mistake again, looking away from her, trying to do things without her.

  No, they were better together, and he was determined to see how far he could go tonight to prove that to her. “Come on. We’re going to get the stink of that tainted magic off of us. In the shower. Now.”

  He pushed her ahead of him toward the massive shower stall, and turned on both faucets. He ripped off his shirt first, then pulled her to him, and unbuttoned her blouse.

  “What . . . what are you doing?” Sam asked, a shy expression crossing her face.

  He trailed the back of his hand down her jaw, and lifted the collar of her shirt with his fingertips. She flinched away from his touch. “It’s different now.” She clutched her shirt closed against her chest.

  “Oh, so now you’re going to get all shy on me?” He shook his head and reached for the lower buttons on her blouse. “Don’t you dare pull away from me, Sam.”

  “Is this wise? Now . . .?”

  He unfastened another button, slowly, with determination. She didn’t push his hands away. “Why? Because when this happens, our lives change for good?”

  She nodded, fear dashing through her eyes, dancing across them, drawing a gasp from her lips. “I don’t want to lose you.”

  “You’ll never lose me.” He pulled her to him and covered her mouth with a hard, possessive kiss. Her resistance was nothing but a memory in less than three seconds. She wound her arms up around his neck, laced her fingers through his hair, and pulled him closer. He tangled his tongue with hers, so soft, wet, and warm, and he let loose a purr from deep within his throat. His secret weapon. He grinned when Sam groaned. She melded her body to his, so soft, so pliant, so willing in his arms. “We are going to do this,” he said.

  “No. If we consummate this, you’ll . . .”

  “What? Go feral? Leave you? Refuse to join the HWB? No, sweetheart. I’d never do that to you. I want you too bad to ever let that happen.” He took her lips again, working his way in to her mouth, to her body, to her very soul. She opened to him like some damned exotic flower, and he couldn’t wait to taste her. “But just in case we get ever separated, I want to show you how much you belong to me.”

  Sam sighed against his mouth, and he showed her no mercy.

  He lifted her legs up onto his hips, and crushed her against the tiled wall, grinding his body into hers. She lost her breath, and lolled her head back, giving him access to the soft, silken skin on her neck.

  She held him there, threading her hands through his hair. “You are mine to keep,” he said and nipped at her neck. “You are mine to protect. You and I will see this through until I take my last breath.”

  She clutched him tighter. Max chuckled, and kissed her lips again. He exhaled against her mouth, while his palm found the soft mound of her breast, and whispered, “Shade is wrong. You and I belong together, forever.”

  “Yes,” she moaned, arching her chest into his eager hand.

  He pulled her legs from his waist, then unzipped her jeans. He dragged them down to the floor, and spun her around, kicking them away. He unclasped his jeans and tore them off. He pressed her up against the wall, the full thickness of his erection seeking out the heat between her legs.

  While he’d never actually done this, instinct led him, and the moves came naturally. Oh, he’d read about the act of sex, sure, but actually being here with Sam, about to go forward with this part of their relationship was more than he’d ever hoped for. He wanted to please her, wanted to make her his forever.

  She whimpered, and the sound drove him mad with need. He unclasped her bra and tossed it aside. His hands cupped both her breasts, and she thrust her body back into him. So soft, the peaks of her nipples hardened under his fingertips. He eased his mouth close to her ear. “We are going to do this.”

  Her hips pressed back into his erection, and she nodded. “I can’t take it. Please, Max, don’t make me wait.”

  He whirled her around, and marched her forward into the shower. “Oh. You’re gonna wait until I wash you, and then when I’m done, I’m gonna show you why this is exactly what we’re supposed to be doing.”

  A high-pitched squeak of pleasure was her only reply when the water droplets pelted her skin.

  Like he’d seen her do a thousand times, he took control and soaped up his hands, then trailed them over her gorgeous body. Her soft sighs of pleasure led him, showed him what she liked. He nuzzled her ear. “You’ve bathed me all these years. It’s time I returned the favor.”

  She grasped his hands and pushed them lower, between the vee in her legs. He explored her body with his fingers, and she moved herself against his hand. “Don’t stop,” she urged. “Make me forget.”

  “I won’t stop.” He suckled the soft spot between her neck and shoulder with hard demanding lips, and buried his fingers deep into her slick folds. When she sighed, and leaned against him for support, he bit her neck, gently demanding, urging her forward. “I’m just getting started.”

  He pressed her back against the tiles, lifted her leg, and worked the tip of his erection against her hot, sleek opening. Sam’s blue eyes flew wide, and she gave him a look of surprise. “Yes, Max.”

  She guided his thumb against the hard bundle of nerves just above her entrance, then nodded as he pressed inside her.

  “Oh,�
� she murmured, her eyes opening even wider. He hesitated, not wanting to hurt her. He’d rather die than hurt her. He wanted her screaming his name in pleasure. She panted out several short breaths, clutched his hips, then guided him in deeper. “Oh, yes, Max. Right. There.”

  He slid inside her, gently, massaging her taut bundle of nerves with his thumb. Her legs quivered, and the sensation of pure pleasure from plunging deeper into her body nearly knocked him to the floor. “Feels so damn good, Sam.”

  Oh, gods, he had to have her. All of her. Damn the consequences. Damn Shade and his fear tactics. Damn the HWB. They were strong enough to beat this. They were strong enough to see their love survive it all. He surged forward, and caught Sam’s head as she collapsed against his chest. “Yes, sweetheart. You were meant for me.”

  She hugged him closer, and whispered in his ear. “And you were meant only for me.” She hitched her hips up, taking all of him. The sensation of her searing heat around his cock nearly crippled him, but he pulled her face to his and buried his tongue in her mouth.

  She pushed her hips to meet his. Flesh-on-flesh. So damn sweet. So damned good he thought he might lose himself inside her if she let him. He pulled out, then surged back into her. She let out a sexy hiss of pure ecstasy.

  Making love to Sam after all those years of yearning for her body was surreal. They lost themselves in the act, in the moment, in the sheer elation of their bodies united as one.

  She came first as he’d prayed she would.

  Her orgasm overwhelmed him.

  He’d imagined sex could feel this good, but when her body gripped his in sheer ecstasy, urging him forward, and his first release threatened, he cast his head back and moaned, letting the flying feeling overwhelm him.

  His sac contracted, as nature intended, and he flooded her soft body with his essence. Somewhere deep inside his psyche, Max knew he owned her, and it was the greatest gift any woman ever gave a man.

  Her perfect body was a home for his love, a safe place where their children would grow inside her. He’d never loved Sam as much as he did in this one moment where their souls met—where their future found a place of coveted peace.

  She would bear his children. He’d seen it in his dreams. But he’d also seen her push him away during their darkest hour.

  She was the loveliest creature on the planet, and now she belonged to him. Through them, through this mating act, their destiny was secured. He pumped everything he had into the act, and cradled her head on his shoulder as she gave herself over to him.

  Max clouded out the fury that consumed him when he remembered the bad dreams. Could making love to her like this change their future? One thing was certain—if she left him now, he’d be devastated.

  Sam

  I NEARLY PASSED out, but Max held me up, cradling me against the hard planes of his chest. Did having this with Max mean I would lose him? Goddamn. The universe must be playing tricks on me. Or, was the reality I’d been told, the curse, based on nothing but lies?

  My instinct railed against the garbage in my head and I clung to Max. This was what was real. This meant something. My limbs were weak from the onslaught of his love, but he caught me, and held me fast as the spasms of pleasure shot through me like lightning.

  No. This must be peace. Hell, this must be heaven. He’d wracked my body with pleasure. Nothing bad could ever come from this.

  I pulled his head close to mine, and whispered. “That was amazing. Can we do that again?”

  He chuckled. “The water’s getting cold. Maybe we should find a soft bed and see what sort of magic we can conjure up there?”

  “We’ve got time. Let’s do it,” I said.

  He whisked me out of the shower so fast my head spun. Soft, billowing towels dried our bodies, and he lifted me up in his arms. The sensation of moving through the house followed, and before I knew it, Max had laid me down in a cradle of soft sheets on the waiting mattress in one of the guest rooms. “How’s this, love?” he asked.

  I’d only nodded my head when he found my center. He used two strong hands to open my legs, then settled down below me to give my sex his full attention. One long finger swept itself inside me, hitting ultra-sensitive nerve endings that begged for his touch. I tore the bedding in my hands, grasping for anything that would keep me grounded to earth as Max fastened his generous lips on me. “Oh. My. God!”

  He chuckled, the laughter in his lips sending spasms through my body. He added another finger inside me and searched my depths, thrusting inside me, searching my body for its secrets. I threw my head back into the pillows because the sensation was too much to bear. I lifted my hips to meet his lips, securing his hair in my hand, pressing his face harder into my most intimate space.

  “Mmmm,” he grumbled, locking down on my nub. And then he had the nerve to start that exquisite purring I adored. The vibrations sent me into the stratosphere of pleasure.

  I gave my body over to his ministrations, pushing myself harder against his demanding lips, his tongue, his warm, soft mouth. Goddamn, he knew how to use those lips.

  A second later, I pulsed in a puddle of pure joy. The orgasm overran me, engulfing me in wracking spasms reverberating from my core to the tips of my fingers and my toes.

  Max laughed. “I think I found your soft spot.” He heaved himself up above me, supporting himself on his strong arms, smiling down on me. His smile was contagious. I couldn’t help but respond with a giggle of glee. He focused on my eyes with a glance that could start a wildfire. “Tell me you want more?”

  Even now, he was asking me, beseeching me, asking for permission. With the tip of his cock pressed firmly against my opening, who was I to deny him? I smiled, the answer obvious on my lips. I pivoted my hips against his eager erection. “Hell, yes, I want more. More of you. All of you. Now, Max,” I demanded.

  He surged forward into my body, filling me, stretching my sensitive skin with a pressure that blinded me. My God, the man was well-endowed. So big. So hard. So utterly satisfying. All I could do was lay back and let him consume me. And even though I knew I was his first, he seated himself inside my body as if he’d done this a thousand times, as if he intended to do this at least a thousand times more. A girl could only hope.

  “Sam.” He hovered over me, and whispered my name over and over as he made love to me. As he pulled me back into the torrent that was our mating, I gave myself over to his efforts. I came, again, and I grasped his muscular arms, searching his face while the spasms of our bodies led us into bliss. He felt it too. That was clear on his face as he watched me give myself to him.

  As he loved me into inevitable oblivion, I gave myself over to it. I’d never find a way to cut myself free from him now. And the truth was, I didn’t want to. Not now. Not ever.

  A little while later, we both drifted off to an exhausted and well-earned sleep. Max cradled me in his arms, his hands everywhere, his legs covering mine, and he softly snored, alternating with that throaty purr.

  How the hell could something so amazing scare the hell out of me?

  Would things change now? Gah! Who was I kidding? Everything had changed when Max rocked my world. How would he behave when tomorrow came? Was there any truth to the shifter-turned-feral curse?

  And if there was, what would I have to do to see Max through it?

  Did he really think Rosencratz was right for fighting against the HWB? How could he think such a thing, when he’d worked tirelessly by my side all these years, upholding the rules of the organization?

  How could I reconcile my life’s work, if the man I’d fallen in love with went rogue, and became a target of the Hunters’ Watch Brigade?

  Chapter 20

  Sam

  I WOKE CLOSE TO midnight, my naked body twined around the hard planes of Max’s naked body. The pure male scent of him was exotic, and intoxicating. He purred in his sleep
, and while the sound relaxed me, and I wanted the afterglow we reveled in to last forever, my eyes shot open, and reality set in.

  What had we done? No one could find us like this. We had to get up, to meet the witches, to find our mothers.

  And where had he learned those amazing moves, anyway? Had he been reading my romance novels?

  My cellphone rang Cyn’s ringtone, and I snatched it up, sitting up on the side of the bed, tugging the crisp, cotton sheets around me. “Where are you?”

  “We’re about ten minutes away. Shade took his team to HWB headquarters. Victoria’s with me, along with a few others.”

  Victoria Smith and my mother had been friends for a long time. She was one of the most powerful witches in New York City, and with her on our side, we might have a chance to dissolve the cloak on Miss Daisy’s implant. I flipped on the bedside lamp.

  “Okay. I’ll put on the coffee.” I ended the call, and turned to Max who was rubbing sleep from his eyes, and stretching like a big old cat. “We have to get dressed. Quickly.”

  Downstairs ten minutes later, Max greeted Cyn and her entourage at the front door, and escorted them in to the house.

  By the way Atlantis was twitching under my skin, I knew these were five very powerful witches. I’d never met them, but I welcomed them inside, and showed them our failed scrying circle.

  Victoria was tall, about six feet, with long platinum blond hair. Dressed in brown leggings, boots, and a black tunic, she clucked her tongue and paced around my circle. “This is very poor form, Samantha. I’m surprised you weren’t both taken.”

  I bristled. She might have been right, but it didn’t help to hear it. I lifted a shoulder. “My trident broke the magic before Rosencratz took Max.”