by Setta Jay
As if hearing her thoughts, he shredded the jeans as though they were nothing more than a sheet of paper. So much strength was banked in his gorgeous body, and he was hers. She shook her head because she couldn’t make sense of any of it, not with so much power flooding her cells and lust hazing her mind.
Her panties were the next casualty of their need, and the second she felt his fingers gliding over her clit, a precursor orgasm hit. It was only the first wave, enough that it should have taken the edge off, but it didn’t. She gripped his massive cock, wishing she had time to worship it as it deserved.
“Enough,” he growled. “Guide it.” His eyes were glazed with raw need, the tendons on his neck were tight, and she felt just how hard and hot he was in her hands.
She lifted her hips and slid him in. If she hadn’t been dripping for him, she never would have gotten him to fit. He was stretching her so full that her head fell back, her hands braced on his chiseled waist. Inch by inch, she took him. The scent of sex filled her lungs as she ground down, taking him all the way to the root.
“You’re so damned tight,” he gritted out.
His warm hands gripped her ass, his fingers flexing as if he wanted to wrest control from her and fuck her, but he didn’t. He waited for her to move, shifting his hold until his thumb circled her clit. She groaned and rode him, faster and faster until she was dizzy, her breathing harsh, her body on fire. She came in a long, exquisite wave. She felt like a mass of exposed nerve endings when he crashed over the edge with her. He shouted her name to the ceiling, and she felt the rush of his warm come jetting inside her. She’d never felt anything like it. He throbbed, somehow hurtling her into another climax. When it was over, she collapsed against his chest, trying to breathe.
The magic running in her veins hadn’t eased. She felt as if she could have sex all over again, and it wouldn’t be enough to release the raw energy coursing through her.
Lucius caressed her back as she lay there. He was being so gentle with her. Even when he spoke, it was soft. “It’s not going to be enough, Sage. You can’t hold this kind of power as a mortal. It will kill you. We have tonight. I’ll do everything to make this special for you.”
She sat up so she could look down at him. Focusing was difficult, and she knew he couldn’t be real. Softly she asked, “Why not special for you too? If this is a once-in-an-eternity thing, why not special for you?”
“Every touch is special. Every breath you take is… I know you don’t understand.” The way he smiled and spoke melted her and made it harder to breathe. She noticed that his features had eased into something less dangerous and more fangless. She couldn’t decide if he was more beautiful now or before, when he was barely gripping the last threads of his control. It was tempting to see what it would take to shred that ruthless restraint. She knew he’d been minding his far superior strength, but she’d never felt more indestructible in her life. Unfortunately, it came with downsides like that fullness of power itching for release—and, according to him, potential death.
He traced a finger over her cheek, his gaze seeming to memorize her features as if he’d never seen anything more beautiful. She felt the evidence of their pleasure sliding between them, and she realized he hadn’t really softened inside her.
His grin was wicked. “I could come for you as many times as you want. That will never be a problem.” The smile faded from his lips. “But right now, we have a little time to talk. I won’t risk more than a couple of hours with you like this.” He moved, settling her so she was on her side, facing him.
As she shifted, she looked around, finally comprehending the vast difference in the space. Her heart stopped. “Calista?”
“She’s safe. You were unconscious, and the plants wouldn’t allow anyone but me near you.”
Her pulse raced when she realized another truth. “I’m not controlling any of this. Who is?” The flora had completely transformed the space, and she hadn’t fully understood when he’d come to her. All of the paths were overgrown and had left the two of them in a small clearing in the center. She sent power out to see if she could clear the way. The vines moved, but she felt the reluctance in a more sentient way than she’d ever felt from plants.
“It’s a power the goddess Demeter once had. You can control them. You raised them.”
“I didn’t ‘raise’ anything.”
The look on his face said she had.
“How can I have powers of a goddess?”
“Hers was one of the powers unleashed at the end of the world… I’m not sure what you know about Demeter.” He clenched his jaw as if he hadn’t been a fan of the woman, and that reminded her how old he could be. Most all of his kind were from an era when gods walked among humans.
“You knew her?”
He shook his head. “‘Knew’ is a stretch. I fought battles against her. She raised forests like these during the wars. The woodlands guarded her, fought for her. She filled them with poisonous species strong enough to fell an Immortal. When she went mad like most of the gods, it only became worse. The creations became more dangerous, deadly to humans. When all the gods were finally contained by the creators millennia ago, the sentience in her creations faded away.”
“I can’t create species.” Anxiety twisted in her gut as she thought of the possible horrors in that kind of power.
“Maybe not. You only have a portion of her abilities. If it had all come to you, it would have killed you.” He was holding back.
“But you’re worried? Worried I’ll accidentally create something deadly.” The power that had been so beautiful suddenly seemed scary as hell. Leaves came to slide over her cheek. Was the forest trying to comfort her? What the hell was happening?
“I worry that even a fraction of her magic is a thousand times too much for a mortal, so we need to change that quickly. I don’t know what it will become. But I’ll be with you as we figure it out.”
Her sister had been with her when this happened, and she worried she could have hurt Calista and not even known it.
Her heart thudded in her chest, and he curled a strong hand over her hip and made little circles with his thumb on her skin. Something in her settled from his touch as much as his words. “It’s okay. Your sister’s safe. Tell me what your power was like before?”
She looked around, thinking. “Earth magic, specifically in plants, always called to me. It strengthens me. I can use it to power spells and wards or to make the plants grow faster and stronger. But tonight, in here, I don’t know what happened. The plants were reaching for me, and the power just kept coming until it was if I’d burst into a thousand pieces, and then nothing. I fell into this dreamlike state. It was pure euphoria after I was compelled here.” She glanced at the statue she’d been led to, a stone goddess with a crown of flowers.
He turned to look at the depiction and shook his head. “Not Demeter. More like a generic representation of the goddess. The plants of all four Realms were under her control, so it was set in the center of a sampling from each plane. None of the other gods had her particular power, and even Immortals with elemental Earth power can’t do this. The entire acre of gardens reconfigured after you came here. It moved and guarded you while you were passed out.” He gestured around them. “And this place recognized I was yours before you did.”
She slid her hand against his chest to get more of his comforting warmth. The entire situation was insane, but somehow, she felt more grounded when touching him. They didn’t know each other, but the connection, the chemistry, was undeniable.
He caught her gaze, and the heated possessiveness she found in the depths of his eyes reminded her of what he’d said about them being in each other’s minds. “You can hear my thoughts, but I can’t hear yours. Sometimes, I feel like I can sense your thoughts, but it’s more like I’m feeling your emotions.” She’d felt his needs.
He nodded very slowly. “I’m trying not to overwhelm you with my thoughts.”
“Yet you’re listening to everything
I’m thinking?” She narrowed her eyes at him as she tested her mental wards. She couldn’t see a break, but she didn’t like that he was hearing her thoughts while hiding his own.
She felt it when he slipped into her mind and nearly moaned at the eroticism of having him there. He set the block himself and slipped back after showing her how to use it. “You’re right. It wasn’t fair.”
After sucking in a deep breath, she could focus again. He was a man who could admit he was wrong. That was exceedingly rare, in her experience. She raised an eyebrow, still angry and hating that he’d seen her as some damsel he needed to rescue. “Do you bowl over everyone in your life? Or am I special because I’m mortal?” she asked before continuing. “You could have told me how to block you, but you slipped into my mind and did it instead. Or you could have opened your own blocks. That would have been fair play.”
Chapter Seven
Lucius
For a moment, Lucius stilled, listening to his beautiful mate take him to task. His dick actually twitched against his stomach. She would have seen his reaction if she hadn’t locked him in her gaze.
Had he ever been at a loss for words?
She spoke through the silence. “I can almost feel you trying to find the answer you think I’ll like. Don’t. Be honest with me. I’m guessing it’s probably best not to start off an eternity with you trying to pacify me. I won’t always be this weak.” She rolled her neck as if to rid herself of the anger and frustration he knew she felt. “Tell me what happens next, because even though I’m annoyed, this power feels like too much, and I’m starting to really need a replay of our earlier activities.”
He waited a beat then answered her first question. “My sister would say I bowl her over as well. It’s not because I see you as weak. It’s because of who I am.”
Her lips curved a little at his admission, and he took that as a good sign. He’d never had to explain himself before, and he had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last time.
Being cut off from her thoughts made him edgy. He hated having that barrier between them, but if he’d have allowed her into his mind, he would have scared the hell out of her. He was worried about what this power meant for her. His mind was going over all the potential options when he wasn’t dying to get inside her. And if she knew how rabid the scar on her chest made him, he wasn’t sure she would understand how much he hated that she’d been hurt and he hadn’t been there. His protective instincts made him swift and deadly.
Add all of that to the fact that he had to temper his strength while riding the high of a mating frenzy. She was stronger and faster than a mortal should have been, but she wasn’t a match to his strength. She would still be fragile until they finished this.
He ran his fingers up and down her arm as he watched her. Her soft skin was so smooth and warm. He would never get enough of her, but it was time to do what he’d been dreading. She’d asked what they needed to do. “The next step is to blood bond.”
She stilled. “You want my memories?”
It took everything inside him to keep his voice calm. What would he see in her past that made her so nervous? What horrors had she lived through when he hadn’t even known she existed? “You’ll have mine as well. We have to do this. I’ll warn you that you’ll probably see a lot of blood in my memories. I’m not human, little one. I’ve lived a long life. A very different life with very different rules.”
He watched her closely as he said each word, wishing he could hear her thoughts. Her gaze seemed to stutter. “And we have to do this?”
“Yes.” He took a fortifying breath to keep his voice soft. “I know you were hurt.” His fingers slid to the scar on her chest. “I’d have given anything to protect you.”
Her smiled confused him. “That was from me not dodging a fireball. It was a lesson. Nothing too traumatizing.”
Some of the tension left his shoulders, but he would still kill anyone who’d hurt her. She would understand that soon enough. “What are you worried I’ll see? I’d give my life to keep you safe, Sage.” Immortality was only a long life. Even he couldn’t regenerate a head.
She raised her eyebrows. “I sure as hell hope not. I’d be more impressed if you lived instead of worrying over a scratch.” Her eyes grew serious again. “I’m more worried about the things I’ve witnessed. I’m worried about you keeping the secrets I’ve promised to keep.”
“I’d never betray you. Our souls will be connected soon. No part of a mated pair would harm the other. And sharing your secrets would hurt you.”
“‘Hurt’ isn’t the word I’d use. I’d be furious, and I’d find a way to make you pay. I take my word very seriously, Lucius. And my friends are part of my family.”
Everything she’d done, every word she’d uttered made him want to take her again. She was fucking perfect. He slid his hands into her hair and pulled her in for a kiss. She tasted so damned good. Every inch he’d sampled made him itch for more of her. Her tongue slid over his, and he fought not to get lost in the lust rolling over them.
Little tremors wracked her body, and she broke the kiss. Her eyes were glazed with lust and more, making his pulse triple in speed because he could feel the magic inside her. “The power?”
“It’s… uncomfortable.”
“Then it’s time,” he warned before kissing her, his hand softly stroking her back to soothe her nerves. In her mind, he whispered the vows spoken by every mated pair for thousands of years, “I vow to honor and care for you with my body, soul, and in blood for all eternity.” He felt the magic flowing around him, accepting his sacred promise.
She moaned into his mind and repeated the words exactly. His cock had gotten impossibly hard, but they weren’t done. They needed to finish this. He’d given her all the time he could.
He continued rubbing her back, easing her as he broke the kiss to bite into his tongue. Moving with preternatural speed, he reclaimed her mouth, giving her his blood in the easiest way possible. She moaned and greedily sucked on his tongue as she grinded her body against his. He grazed her kiss-swollen bottom lip with a fang and lapped the sting. The first taste of her pulled a low groan from deep inside his chest.
Lucius found himself in the memories of a child, his mate. Mentally, he smiled as he felt her thoughts when she realized she was getting a sister and another mom.
She glanced down at a toddler with chocolate skin and little golden eyes. They’d played before. The little girl was cute—she had chubby little cheeks and a pet snake, and Sage thought it was so cool! She would have someone to play with all the time. There weren’t that many kids so deep in the swamps. She eyed the moms gazing down at her with matching nervous smiles, loving smiles, light and dark like their daughters. She didn’t understand any of what she saw. He did. Her moms were anxious she wouldn’t like the new arrangement. She was thinking in far simpler terms. He felt young Sage’s excitement. “She can share my toys, but not my cookies,” she declared firmly. In her mind, two moms meant two times the cookies and a playmate. She practically vibrated with glee as she grabbed her new sister’s hand and dragged her out of the room to show her their room.
He fell into another memory from when she was a little older. He felt her excitement when her moms taught her spells. She sat with her small family on an old stool in their big kitchen, laughing and singing badly while chopping up ingredients for dinner. She concentrated on using the power of the ivy growing almost wild in their home. It helped her settle a ward around the house. Her moms whooped and danced around the room when she’d gotten it right. She was so proud, so excited to try it again, so loved.
Many memories flashed as she learned her craft and played with her sister and friend Ash. Lucius mentally frowned at her thoughts of the boy.
Before he settled in, Lucius was dropped into another memory. He could feel she was about ten and doing something she felt was dangerous and daring. Calista was her lookout as she snuck down into the nearly collapsing cabin of smugglers who’d caged so many magical cr
eatures. Inch by inch, she moved. She was full of magic from all the trees and giant lily pads around her. Her mom and mama had taught her spells to protect their home, and the swamps were that home. The bad men had stuck the animals in small cages, and she’d heard their cries when she and Calista were exploring.
Lucius wasn’t feeling good about any of this memory. He was on edge as she watched two bedraggled men leave in a fan boat. Then she snuck into the piece-of-shit home that reeked so badly that she put a hand over her face. She sent a spell to unlock all the cages and opened the front door. With a whoop, she and Calista ran as fast as they could. Snakes seemed to follow, and neither girl was worried. She’d been so very proud of herself. Her moms were less pleased—they made calls to have the animals rescued and lectured the girls. He felt his mate’s heart breaking at the thought of the creatures being in danger because of her. She’d thought she was saving them, but the swamps were dangerous.
He would have a heart attack if their children were anything like her.
He mentally braced himself for the next memory. Several passed with more dangerous heroics and pastimes. The two moms seemed to get grayer every time he saw them in her memories. It didn’t matter to Lucius that she’d always had such moral reasons for her actions. Her recklessness didn’t make him less nervous. Not at all.
A succession of memories showed a budding friendship with a dark-haired girl with mixed heritage and dark-blue eyes—Jade, Ash’s cousin. Something about Jade sent warning signals off in Lucius’s mind. That girl had seen things, bad things, and it was obvious to him but not to Sage. Jade tried to keep to herself, but Sage had pushed through the girl’s walls, and they’d gotten close. He felt how much Sage had grown to love her best friend. They ran amok in the swamps. They played with spells and shared notes on their schooling. Jade and Ash had taught Sage to fight dirty.