Ruthless Knight
Page 15
“You saved me,” Tamryn said. “All those years ago when you put me in that spell. You saved my life.”
“You realize I am not the same Illary who magicked you away, don’t you?” Illary asked her.
Tamryn leaned back. “You didn’t do the magic on yourself?”
“No. I share a consciousness with the Illary who spelled you, though. The kind of being I am—that I was—doesn’t need a spell like that.”
Tamryn looked harder at Illary. The woman in her parents’ court, so many years ago, had appeared slightly older to her, with a streak of gray in her black hair, and lines forming around her eyes and mouth. She hadn’t questioned seeing a younger-looking version of the same woman; she’d assumed witch magic had been at work.
Carefully, Tamryn said, “So you’re not the woman I knew in the eighteen-hundreds?”
“I have her consciousness. I am her, and she is me, but this is not her body.”
Tamryn let that information sink in for a few minutes.
“You said something about the kind of being that you were. What does that mean?”
“It means,” Illary said, “that my magic is gone. It’s been exhausted. I used the last of it to find Smith and Gadwyn.”
“Without your magic...” Tamryn began.
“Without my magic, we are human, for all purposes. This is the last body we will have. And I must admit...we’re tired.”
Tamryn blinked at Illary’s sudden use of the plural, first-person pronoun. But then she decided it was probably one of the least odd elements of this conversation.
One of the oddest things was Illary’s new role as an equal. She no longer seemed like the all-powerful magical being she’d been before, ordering Tamryn around. Or maybe it was Tamryn who had changed, by coming into her power.
“What’s next for you?” Tamryn asked.
“I’m not certain,” Illary said.
“We could make a home for you here,” Tamryn offered. “Jameson wouldn’t mind in the slightest.”
Shaking her head, Illary said, “That won’t be necessary, but thank you for the offer. For now, I must find my own way.”
She stood and moved toward the door. Tamryn stood as well, and trailed her there.
“You have not failed me, not in the least,” Tamryn said. “My parents would be grateful, and I am grateful. Thank you for all you have done.”
Reaching out, she pulled Illary into her arms. Illary sagged against her for a moment, then straightened her spine and stepped back.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Tamryn gave an exasperated groan. “Please, call me Tamryn.”
“I suppose I’m no longer your subject,” Illary said thoughtfully. “Then, goodbye, Tamryn.”
Illary stepped into the pale morning and walked away, between two of the cabins, and down the long gravel drive leading to the highway. Tamryn waved briefly to Ian and Faith, who were sitting close in picnic chairs next to the empty fire, sharing a book between them while they drank their coffee. Otherwise, the Ring of Fire was quiet. It seemed no one else was awake yet.
Tamryn closed the door. She climbed back into bed and snuggled against Nolan. They were alone together once more, and Tamryn reveled in the feeling of safety. She would never take it for granted.
Nolan stirred and frowned, his eyes still closed as he ran a hand over Tamryn’s hip. “You have clothes on.”
“I had to get up for a few minutes.”
“But you have clothes on,” he said again, as if the pajama pants and t-shirt were a personal affront.
He was naked, still, as they’d slept in the nude after last night’s lovemaking.
She trailed a hand over his muscular stomach and gave an exasperated sigh. “Well, I guess if you don’t like the clothes, maybe you should do something about them.”
His eyes snapped open, light gray and playful. “Maybe I should do something about them, hmm?”
Before she could respond, he rolled her over until she was on her back and he lay on top of her. Tamryn’s breath hitched as he yanked up the t-shirt she wore and wrapped it tightly around her wrists, holding them above her head. She tugged against the restraint. She could get free if she really wanted to...but then one of his hands was holding the t-shirt tightly in place, and his other hand was gliding down her chest to cup each of her breasts in turn.
She couldn’t get free, and what was more, she didn’t want to.
When he dipped his head to take one of her nipples in his mouth, she gasped and wrapped her legs around his waist. Rocking back and forth, she was able to get some of the friction she so desperately needed.
“Nolan,” she said, as he increased the suction on her breast. Desire swirled deep in her belly, concentrating lower and lower to where her legs met.
He pulled away and gazed at the red mark he’d left on her breast. “I like the looks of that,” he said.
His cock was at full attention, long and thick and jutting out like a proud warrior’s sword. She wanted him inside of her, stroking her to her release.
Tamryn arched forward. Just a little closer, and she could reclaim him with her legs. But he simply smiled and held a hand over her lower abdomen, tracing the waistband of the pajama pants she wore.
“You said I should do something about your clothes if they bothered me,” he said, stroking her skin with each word. “These pants are bothering me...very...much.”
His fingers delved inside the pants and he used both of his hands to yank them down to her ankles. Then he looked at Tamryn, cold heat in those pale eyes of his.
“I don’t know if I can go slow and easy this morning,” he said, giving himself a long stroke.
Tamryn whimpered. She wanted him—so very much, she wanted him. “I like fast, too.”
“Do you?” he asked, reaching past her for the little table next to the bed. He opened the drawer and pulled out a condom.
She felt herself flush. “Leave it off. I want babies. I’m not scared, anymore. We can keep our children safe.”
“You sure?” He held the foil packet between his thumb and forefinger, ready to tear it open.
“I’m absolutely certain,” she said.
Growling, he dropped the packet on the floor and showered kisses over her face and lips. She hooked one of her legs around him and tugged him closer. When his cock slid against her folds, she moaned. “Please, Nolan. I love you. I need you.”
He took his cock in hand again and guided it against her entrance. She felt so wet, so wanton. Joining with this beautiful, tender, sexy man was her heart’s desire.
“I love you, too,” he whispered as he slid inside.
Her eyelids fluttered shut at the feeling of fullness and completion. As he stroked within her, the budding, pulsing pleasure built and built. Tamryn yanked her arms free of the t-shirt he’d knotted around her wrists and gripped his shoulders, pulling him down so she could kiss his mouth. Their tongues slid together, mimicking the movements of his cock pumping. With every thrust, his pelvis dragged over her clitoris.
She couldn’t take much more—the pleasure needed somewhere to go—and it exploded from her and left her shaking. She cried out against Nolan’s lips and he swallowed her cries and her kisses at the same time.
His thrusting became frantic, then he groaned and tensed. The pulsing of his cock within her was in tandem with the heat of his seed spilling.
He buried his face in the crook of her shoulder, just where he’d given her the mate mark that fateful night in the forest.
“Sometimes I wish I was a dragon, so I could fly with you,” he said.
“Mmm?” she murmured. It was hard to think as the languid, post-coital sleepiness draped over her like a warm blanket.
“Yeah,” he said. “But then I remember there’s more than one way to fly.”
“Wake me in an hour, and we’ll fly again,” she whispered, curling her body against his.
FILTHY BEAST, the first book in an all-new series, Junkyard Shifters, is co
ming out in May 2020! Read on for a sneak peek.
An Early Peek at Filthy Beast
He hooked two fingers into her belt loop and dragged her closer. “How about you use that tongue for something good and kiss me?”
“Fuck you.”
“Anytime, kitty cat.”
The look she gave him was pure revulsion, but he could scent her desire in the air. She might not like him right now, but she wanted him.
He could work with that.
“You think I’m the same as the other guys here?” he asked. “A violent fighter, ready to kick the shit out of anything that moves?”
“I know you are. I saw you in the ring,” she said, her blue eyes revealing some of the hurt she felt.
“That wasn’t me, kitty cat. That was the beast inside, trying to protect you.”
“I don’t need protecting.”
He laughed and held up his forearm. The scratches she’d left there while in her cougar form still stung even though they were already starting to heal. “I know that, now.”
“Sorry I hurt you,” she said, looking down.
“Sorry I dragged you away from your fight. Now come here.” He kept his fingers in her belt loop and wrapped his other arm around her waist. Her skin was so warm, he felt it through her shirt. “I want that kiss.”
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Also by Liza Street
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About Liza
Liza likes her heroes packing muscles and her heroines packing agency. She got her start in romance by sneak-reading her grandma’s paperbacks. Now she's a USA Today bestselling author and she spends her time writing about hot shifters with fierce and savage hearts.
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