by C. D. Gorri
Perhaps his years as an Enforcer had tainted him against magickal peoples. Perhaps being with her simply freshened his sight. He found the others he’d met and worked with, sometimes hunted, to be hard and selfish. But not Isabeau.
That fact scared him as much as it warmed his blood. She needed protecting. Yes she was powerful, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t vulnerable. The thought of any harm coming to her sent his blood to boiling.
Garren wished he could scoop her up, take her someplace safe where she could be with him and him alone. Apparently he had a possessive streak a mile wide when it came to his lady fair. He glanced up to find her gone while he was lost in his musings.
Beau was on the move again, and he hurried to follow her. He had an inkling he would follow this sorceress anywhere.
Yes, I would, he admitted to himself.
“This place is wonderful, Sorceress Rose.”
“Thanks.”
“I mean it, you are amazing,” Garren said as they finished her rounds.
They had circled the entire compound in less than six hours. In that time, they fed and cared for numerous beasts both magickal and not. Still, he had yet to see any trace of the Were. He was worried about Beau and her stubborn will to keep the volatile creature safe.
“Do you still doubt me?” She asked as they washed their hands at one of the many outside sinks.
“Beau, you have managed to find animals from the mortal world and our world and bring them together here in this one incredible facility. And harmoniously at that. It’s brilliant, Beau, truly. The humans can’t see our creatures, can they? They think you are a normal wildlife sanctuary, don’t they?”
“Yes, they do. That is true.”
“How do you do it, Beau? Isn’t it dangerous for you here, alone?”
“I’m not alone,” Beau said and Artemis suddenly appeared by her side, obviously miffed that she hadn’t been summoned to accompany her. She snapped and growled and he could tell from the stern expression on Beau’s elfin face that she was having quite the discussion with the creature. The wolf was only pacified after several strips of sirloin were sent her way.
“She alright?” He asked.
“Yes, she will be fine,” she arched one eyebrow and looked at the wolf, daring her to argue before continuing, “The truth is, I wonder when humans come to my sanctuary if one day they will see some of my animals for what they are. Most adults are easy to glamour, but children are not always so simple to fool.”
“Is that so?” He smiled encouragingly. One of the things he was responsible for was making sure the veil between the magick world and the human world stayed firmly in place. Isabeau seemed to have quite the grasp on things here. He wondered if he could learn a thing or two from the lovely sorceress.
“Yes, why there was once a little girl who went on and on about the magickal horse in my stable, and I knew she had seen the young unicorn I was nursing. Poor thing had been injured by a deer hunter’s bow.”
“I thought unicorns were one of the most powerful of magickal beasts. Couldn’t she heal herself then?”
“No, they can heal themselves from magick, but they must hide from mortals. The young mare had gotten too brave and barely escaped with her life.”
Once more, he found himself standing close to her. He couldn’t seem to help himself. He was drawn to her like a moth to flame. As if some invisible force was pulling him to be near the radiant woman.
Her eyes flashed like a hunted animal’s would, and for a moment, he thought she would run for him. He should have known better. His sorceress was made of sterner stuff. He cocked his head to the side and breathed in her cinnamon scent before raising his hand to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. It was a simple gesture. One that spoke of ease and familiarity. Perhaps it was too soon, but in his heart it had been forever.
“And what about you, Sorceress? Do you think we will escape this intact?” He gestured between them, reveling in the heat that seemed to come from her nearness.
Lips nearly touching, Garren’s heart thundered in his ears. Pulse racing, breath quickening, all he had to do was lean in and take what he knew was his. But he wanted more than that, call him greedy or a fool. Maybe he was both, but he couldn’t help himself. Garren needed her to make the first move, so he waited, a hair’s breadth apart.
She turned her green eyes up at him and winked. Then she walked up the path to the main house.
Chapter 13
She knew he followed her through the darkened pathway. Beau had practically begged him to with that saucy wink and the suggestive sway of her walk.
He entered her home behind her, silently and confidently. Beau turned to the growling wolf in the doorway and addressed Artemis.
Leave us, please. I will be alright. The she-wolf obeyed silently as Beau knew she would. Her longtime companion was aware of the things that went on between men and women. Though it had been an age since she’d last indulged, she knew exactly where this night was going.
Isabeau closed the door and faced Garren. She knew he hadn’t been speaking about the upcoming days with Knox, when he mentioned escape. No, he was speaking of the thing she’d thought to deny. This intense attraction between the two of them. He wanted to know if they would survive intact.
Would she survive him? She wouldn’t know if she didn’t take the chance. Isabeau stood tall and proud as she entered her home with her dark Enforcer stalking her every move. With a wave of her hand, her street clothes vanished, and she stood before him in a swirl of shimmering ivory silk and green velvet robes.
“Are you certain?” He asked and she swore he was trembling from head to toe.
“Garren Strengest, you know who and what I am. You know what I do and why I do it. I am certain of myself, but why don’t you tell me who and what you are?”
“I’ve got a better idea,” he said and closed the space between them. “May I?” he said when he was barely a breath away from her lips.
His heartbeat seemed to vibrate from him through her entire body. She felt his heat as if it were a tangible thing. It emanated from his powerful frame and seeped deep into her skin down to her bones.
Isabeau smiled at him, but there was no teasing in her expression. He’d asked her permission. Instead of simply taking what it was he wanted. From what she knew of men, they always took. Warlocks especially, but not this one. She wasn’t sure what he was, witch or warlock?
He was an Enforcer and that meant he had magickal properties. He was educated in the ways of magick, but there were so many classifications of magickal practitioner.
Still, he must be powerful. He had to be in order to get around her wards. Perhaps he was even a sorcerer himself. He was wise to ask her permission before kissing her. Many a man had underestimated a powerful woman’s reserve and that had not ended well for them. To assume liberties with her body could just as soon end in his death. Yes, he seemed to know a lot about magick.
“Beau?” He asked again.
“You may, Garren. Yes, you may,” she returned.
Chapter 14
As soon as the word passed her lips, she found herself being consumed in a kiss that burned down to her very soul. She grabbed two hands full of his thick black hair and pulled him closer. Loving the feel of his powerful body against hers. Yes, his was made to protect, to enforce. His hard plans and rippling muscles pressed against her. Arms like steel bands wrapped around her body, holding her close but not painfully. No, it felt wonderful.
“Do you want this as much as I do, Sorceress? Because once I start, I will not be able to stop,” the growl in his voice sent spasms of pleasure through to her most feminine core.
Passion and desire burned brightly inside of her and she knew what she wanted after all. What she had always wanted. Him.
“Yes,” she cried out, “I want you too.”
Running her hands over his chiseled features, she traced the long silver scar that only added to his masculine perfection. It must have been a powerful be
ast to have left such a mark on him. She knew instinctively that his ability to heal was great.
He traced a line from her neck down her clavicle to her breasts. Nipples hardened, she pressed into his touch, gasping as he bit her lower lip and pulled. She grew moist and warm, her body readying for him underneath her sorceress’s robes.
As if he understood, he began pulling them off to reveal her porcelain skin. His hands left trails of fire on her body. She needed him closer still. Too many clothes. The fine leather of his dragon skin jacket was smooth to the touch, but she’d much rather feel him. She needed him bare as she was. No sooner did she think it, then there he stood, equally undressed in her arms.
“Neat trick,” he murmured as his tongue traced the shell of her ear, dipping once inside to her surprised gasp.
Her hands smoothed over the hard sinewy muscles of his long body until she found what she was looking for. Taking his massive erection in her grasp, she swallowed the cry of ecstasy that spilled from his lips as wine from a bottle.
She smirked and pushed him back as she magickally transported them from the hallway to her large, king-sized, four-post bed.
Garren landed on the soft duvet with a faint thud and pulled her down on top of him. He mashed his mouth to hers, while arranging her to his liking. Blind to all but the feelings bubbling up inside of her, Beau allowed it.
Okay, she reveled in it. Spreading her thighs, she cried out when he found her center and stroked her moist lips apart with his hands. Circling her silken folds, Garren masterfully uncovered her needy little nub and began to pet her there with faster and faster circles until she bucked, crying out wildly against his clever little digits.
Even that was not enough to prepare her for the intensity of her Enforcer’s lithe body as he penetrated her deep and hard in one deliberate thrust of his hips.
“You feel incredible,” he groaned as she began to ride his magnificent body.
Isabeau moaned her pleasure again and again as he feasted on her mouth, neck, and the hard tips of her firm breasts.
“Isabeau, so beautiful and mine,” he grunted the words and she moaned in response.
Isabeau could barely breathe, feelings so intense threatened to take her sanity. He was divine. The perfect foil for her softness. Sweat clung to their bodies as they moved with each other. Moans and whimpers, the language of love echoed in her bedroom as they both worked together towards the perfect simultaneous satisfaction that too few ever experienced.
She clutched his shoulders as her channel tightened, squeezing his shaft and ripples of bliss overcame her. His response was immediate. The heat of his seed as it coated her insides seemed to mark her as his, ruining her for all others. Such ferocity, such passion, she had never felt in her long lifetime.
Sparks flew around her as they came to completion. Breathing heavily, he kissed and held her for a few moments when she could do no more than try to take in as much oxygen as possible.
Chapter 15
“Never that good, that deep,” she said and looked into the clear gray of his eyes to find him smiling at her.
Not in mockery, but an honest smile. She traced his silver scar down to his lips and brushed them once more with her own. The minty taste of him seemed to be innate, not the gum she’d thought he had been chewing earlier that day.
“You are a sorcerer too, not just hired muscle. No witch or warlock either. You are aren’t you?”
He looked amazed that she’d guessed his classification of magick. Nodding, he kissed the palm of her hand and tucked her close to him as they lay among the tangle of blankets and sheets.
“No one has been able to guess that in the three hundred years I’ve walked this Earth, Isabeau Rose.”
She smiled and kissed him again.
“I am glad it was me then,” she admitted.
Sorceresses were quite common among the supernatural world, but a true sorcerer was a rare thing. As a young sorceress, some two hundred and fifty years ago she had been told stories about them. True sorcerers were few and far between.
She paid the most attention to one particular myth of the sorcerer and his lady fair. Many mortals have perverted the tale to be that of a knight, but no knight was as true as one whom magick had helped conceive. That was the difference between their kind and other magickal classifications. Magick chose the sorcerer and sorceress, not the other way around.
When a sorcerer found his lady fair, they became one soul. Two beings with one heart. It was said that the most true, the most honest love a sorceress would ever feel was with the other half of her soul.
Without words, without even speaking the two halves would recognize each other and with their union they would rejoice in a connection so strong, so grand, it would outshine the stars in the sky. The only glitch was of course that the sorcerer would hold the power in his hands.
Should he leave her, her soul would be again torn in two and he would remain as complete as he was before they met. Of course male sorcerers probably added that one, but she never paid it any mind before. Until now.
Chapter 16
Garren stroked the fiery mane of his lady fair’s head as it trailed across his pillow. He leaned over, forcing her to lay on her back as she traced patterns on his arms and shoulders. So beautiful. She filled his mind with thoughts of nothing but her.
He’d never felt anything like it. She was warm and soft and so damn sweet. He swore her cinnamon and spice scent reminded him of home and love. Of his childhood. Of his future.
“Need you,” he whispered and began kissing her neck, then her chin, her cheeks and her mouth.
He found her tongue and tangled it with his so he could taste her, but it wasn’t enough. His mouth reached down, teasing her taut nipples with his tongue and teeth. Still not enough.
He licked down the soft swell of her stomach to her belly button. Dipping into the indentation he dropped a kiss then went further still. Past her fiery curls, he blew a hot breath and searched until he found her. Hot and moist. Sweeter than anything he’d ever indulged in before.
Beau gasped aloud. Her hands tugged on his hair, but he had her now and he wanted more. His cock swelled in reaction, but he would ignore that part of him for now. He was in control here, not his dick. Now, he would feast on his lady.
“You taste divine, love,” he licked and sucked and played until she began thrusting her hips in time with his ministrations.
“Please,” she begged.
He knew instinctively that was not something she did. Ever. He was humbled and proud. Determined to give her everything she wanted he suckled her nub while thrusting two fingers into her channel, stretching her walls and curling his finger to reach that special spot designed to make her howl for him. And howl she did.
He felt the moment she began to come. She tugged his hair, bucked, and moaned, but he would not be moved until he’d swallowed every last drop of her honeyed cream. Once he sat up it was to find his lady fair beautifully disheveled and staring into his eyes with hers blazing like emeralds.
“Watch me, Beau. Look down as I fill you,” he stared into her green depths as he pressed inside of her. Pulsating within her slick channel, Garren tilted her hips and plunged deeper, and sweeter still.
“I don’t think I shall ever get enough of you,” he confessed.
This time he was in no rush. This time Garren was slow and deliberate. He moved his hips in a swivel and grind, so deep and precise that she clung and submitted to him as never before. They reached heaven in a matter of minutes. The soft aftershocks rocking them both until they were numb and boneless.
Afterwards, they lay together, still and silent for a mini eternity. A tangle of arms and legs. He could feel the wheels of her mind starting to turn and he rolled over to look her in the eyes. Waiting.
Chapter 17
“Garren, what now?”
“What do you mean, love?”
“You know what I mean. The Were. Garren, what about the Were?”
He sat up and ran a hand through his hair. He didn’t want this to interfere with them, but how could it not?
“You know our law Beau, you know what I must do.”
“The law is wrong! It’s Hayden, damn him, he is mad with power. Does he think warlocks are so damn high and mighty that other magickal beings are beneath him? What am I to him I wonder? The only reason he is picking on Weres and not trolls or vampires is because they have their own justice system, isn’t it?”
“Beau-”
“You know it is true. Their royalty wouldn’t allow a regular on the Council of Magickal Beings to enforce laws upon their kind. They won’t even entertain the Council’s requests for lawbreakers, will they? Not while that madman is in charge anyway.”
Isabeau was worked up into a real frenzy now. She sat up pulling her robes back on to his dismay. But this was a serious discussion and he pulled his pants on too. Garren should not have been surprised by how much she knew.
It was true, he had been having problems getting the trolls and vampires to cooperate. There were few Enforcers nowadays and his job was more difficult than ever. So much so, that Hayden Jorgensen, head warlock for the Council, had started hiring mercenaries to get tasks done. Against Garren’s many objections. For the first time, he began questioning his choices. It was not an easy thing to admit.
“Beau my job isn’t to question Hayden or any of the laws. I’m an Enforcer like my father before me-”
“So, does that mean you simply do as you’re told? No matter what it does to our world or the mortal world? It is because people are complacent and follow orders that dragons no longer exist! Is that the fate of the Weres then? Will they be expunged from the world? And who makes that decision? Dammit, Garren, you know I am right!”