“You game for another a swim?” he asked.
“Really?”
“Sure. I have a pond upstream that I use for bathing and right now I want you in the water.”
He felt her vibrate with excitement from head-to-foot and he wasn’t surprised. Olivia had bounded into the ocean in her wolf form without a moment’s hesitation, just like she leaped and launched against the cliffs and inside the shifter lodge. A physical woman like Olivia would want to swim.
When he approached the pond and landed, she wiggled out of his arms and started stripping.
He couldn’t help but smile.
“There’s a waterfall and everything,” she cried. “I have to be under it. Now.”
And he wanted her under him.
She lost her clothes so fast his head spun. He had a greater difficulty, however, since he had to sit down and unzip his boots, peel off his leathers, ease out of his long Guardsman coat, and lose his shirt. But the whole time, he watched Olivia, delighting in her sense of abandon and pleasure as she swam through the water.
By the time he was free of his clothes, she’d reached the waterfall and stood under it, waist deep in the pond, her breasts a gleaming pale beacon in the night, eyes closed, expression euphoric.
Despite the icy temp of the water, he felt hot all over as he moved slowly through the pond, his gaze fixed to her.
Once again, however, his mating vibration began to hum. He paused in the water, feeling that hum, stunned that his usually dormant frequency was calling to Olivia. In his long life, he’d never had that happen before, not even with Emily.
So who was Olivia in his life? Was she his destiny, a force well beyond his determination to keep a relationship with her at bay? And because she was half-human, would she even have a similar mating frequency?
The pond deepened and he began to swim, her cinnamon and very spicy scent leading him forward. Despite the cold water, his cock responded and his fangs descended.
He realized he hadn’t fed in a while, not since they’d last made love. As she tilted her head back beneath the fall of water, his gaze got stuck to her pale throat.
He didn’t rise from the water, but instead drew close and kissed her navel. She gasped, a sound barely audible because of the pounding of the waterfall all around them. Her hands landed on his shoulders, kneading his muscles, showing him with her touch that she loved his body.
He kissed his way slowly up her belly, higher and higher until he reached her breasts. He salivated, but had to retract his fangs for what he wanted to do before he fed from her vein.
He took a breast in his mouth and suckled slowly. With a hand on her back, he added pressure so that he could take more of her into his mouth.
That feels wonderful, Zane.
Good. I want you aching for it.
I am. I think all that bounding at the lodge wound me up. This is just what I need.
Her hands drifted down his neck and over his shoulders and arms. He flexed for her and sucked a little harder. She groaned heavily in response, sinking her nails into his biceps. The sensation went straight to his cock.
He said, We’re getting pretty involved here out in the open.
Yes, we are.
How about you cloak us so that we can be free to give full expression to what’s going on between us. For emphasis, he slid his hand low and cupped her.
She cried out, a sharp almost howl-like sound. Immediately after, he felt the vibration of her cloak descend on him.
Good. That’s good.
He left her breast and began to ease her backward beyond the waterfall. She followed his lead, moving with him. “I had a ledge carved out of the rock. I’ve never used it but I was pretty sure one night I’d be able to put it to good use.”
She turned around to look. “Very clever.”
The ledge was up pretty high and would put her at exactly the level he wanted her.
He was going to hoist her onto the seat, but she simply caught the edge and pulled herself up, the physical woman that she was. She didn’t even scrape herself as she turned around to sit facing toward him.
He drew close and eased her legs apart. She settled her hands behind her and leaned back, her eyes glinting. She spread her legs wide and with a thought, sprouted fur to surround her beautiful sex.
He grunted his approval and licked his lips. He loved a woman’s sex and that Olivia enjoyed displaying herself for him. An electric thrill sped through him.
He grunted, his nostrils flaring, as he moved between her thighs.
The stone seat had an angled back so that Olivia could recline. Her back arched as she offered up the low dip of fur that went across her pelvis. The nerves down both sides of his groin sizzled, hardening him even more. Kissing the insides of her legs, he moved closer, his nostrils flaring at her rich, spicy scent.
He licked her folds, then lifted slightly to nuzzle the fur on her abdomen, taking in the sweet powerful scent of her. Dipping down again, he kissed right over her opening, his hands digging into her hips. He pushed his tongue inside her well.
She moaned and gasped. “That feels incredible, Zane.”
He settled in, his hips rocking as he worked her, his cock needing to be right where his tongue played inside his woman.
After a moment, he shifted position, sliding his arms beneath her legs and taking as much of her sex in his mouth as he could. She cried out repeatedly as he began to suck in a steady rhythm.
Zane, you work me up so fast. I’m so close.
And I want you to come. Afterward, I’m going to drink from you because I love how your blood tastes when it’s rich with your ecstasy.
Her hips rocked against his suckling. He drifted his fingers through her fur. As he continued to suck her, he overlaid her mound with his hand, adding a massaging pressure that he knew would cause her sex to contract and release.
She breathed in short pants, her hands on his shoulders, gripping him hard. Her whole body was in a beautiful state of tension, right where he wanted her He sucked faster and just like that, he could feel her body release as she cried out then gave way to a howl. Her hips rocked then pressed hard against his face, the wave of pleasure rising high, then falling. He kept sucking on her, until the jerks of her hips stopped and she relaxed against the stone ledge, her body slack.
He left her sex and kissed her abdomen several times, once more nuzzling the line of fur from hip-to-hip. “I love doing this with you.” He shifted his gaze to see her face, all the while drinking in her scent.
She nodded, her lips parted. It took her a moment, but she finally smiled and said, “I want to trade places with you. Would you like that?”
As he pictured in his mind exactly what ‘trading places’ would mean, a shiver of excitement whipped through his body.
He didn’t say a word. He simply lifted her off the ledge and climbed up, so that she had all the access she could want.
Her gaze became fixed on his upright cock. She took her time and began licking and kissing the crown, then moistening her hands and gliding both down his stalk.
He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He gave himself to the moment, to feeling her strong, perfect ministrations on his cock, her hands stroking him, her tongue swirling and licking him all over, her mouth suckling.
She went lower and took a ball in her mouth, gently savoring, then the other. She rubbed the insides of his legs, his groin, his lower abdomen, touching and exploring.
He loved that she was taking her time to examine him and taste him.
Part of him wanted to come like this and it would be so easy. But he already had an image in his mind of what he wanted to do with her.
When he drew too close to an orgasm, he pushed her gently away, a hiss forming on his lips. You’re so good at this, but I want to hold off.
She rose up and leaned over him so that he could feel his cock between her full breasts. She stayed like that stroking him with a slow, seductive movement.
She met and
held his gaze and something about the sensuality of what they were doing caused his mating vibration once more to charge up, as though everything about him recognized who she was.
“Do you feel that, Olivia?”
“I do. But what is it?”
“My mating vibration. Is yours responding?”
~
Olivia grew very still as she focused inward. From a very quiet place, she could feel an answering vibration and she smiled. “It’s there, but it doesn’t seem very strong, not like yours. Can you feel mine?”
He appeared to consider, a slight frown between his thick dark brows. “Yes, but you’re right. It’s just barely there.”
“Should it be stronger?”
He offered a small shrug. “I don’t know. I’ve never been down this road before.”
“You haven’t?” She’d read up about mating vibrations, that they were used in very devoted bonds, usually between married people. That Zane hadn’t bonded with another woman, not even Emily, pleased her more perhaps than it should have.
He sat up so that he could surround her shoulders with his arms. Leaning down, he kissed her. “I love what you’ve been doing to me.”
“I enjoy your body.”
Since her hands were massaging his pecs and biceps in alternating shifts, he smiled. “I know you do.”
He slid sideways, making room for her and said, “Come up here. I want you on your side, but facing away from me. I want to take you from behind.”
Her eyes widened. “I’d love that.” She jumped up easily and stretched out against him, facing toward the waterfall.
He arched his pelvis and his cock found her wet sex. He began to push inside, guiding himself with his hand and curling his hips. With his leg locked over her knees, he set a rhythm, moving deeper into her well.
She lifted her arm so that she could stroke his hair, reaching behind her. She then twisted her upper torso just enough and his lips found hers. The kiss fed something within her and her mating vibration moved softly in response. His lips were warm and moist. He pierced her with his tongue and her breath caught.
Zane this is amazing. Feel the fur on my chest. I think my shifter loves what you do to me.
His fingers went to work on her thick, V-shaped ruff as his hips moved slowly, gliding his cock in and out of her. He stopped kissing her to glance down at her fur. “I’ve never seen it this thick. I love it.”
His voice was deep and hoarse and his hips began to move faster. His hand traveled in a circle from each hard nipple through the fur and back until she was breathing hard and panting once more.
“I’m going to bite you, Olivia,” he said, taking her chin in hand. “Would you like that?”
“Yes. God, yes.”
He kissed her and rimmed her lips with his tongue, driving into her with a solid push of his cock between her legs. She cried out.
He drew back just enough so that he had access to her throat. She angled her head, closing her eyes, savoring everything that was going on. As he licked her neck, she could feel his mating vibration much stronger now, and her own rose in proportion to his.
Her abdomen tightened with need and longing until she was moaning heavily.
He licked her throat repeatedly. Then she felt a brief, sharp sting as his fangs pierced her skin. The sensation passed and what returned was an incredible amount of pleasure as he began to drink from her.
She hadn’t realized how heavy her chest had felt until that moment, that the blood rose part of her had built up a supply for him, ready to feed and nurture the mastyr that he was.
She felt lost in all the sensations, of the pleasure of his cock hitting her just right, his mouth suckling, and her blood flowing into his body.
With his free hand, he continued to massage her chest, tugging at her fur, then teasing her nipples.
Your cinnamon scent is driving me crazy, making me hard as hell.
He thrust faster now, then slid his hand low and began to massage her. Pleasure surged, and the pressure of his hand helped her to feel his cock even better with each thrust.
“That’s wonderful.”
He grunted against her throat and his thrusts grew heavier, deeper, his body arching into her in strong waves. He became a thick piston, moving in and out of her.
Faster he began to push, massaging her all the while.
Ecstasy rose.
Her left hand gripped his hip, digging in her nails. He grunted his approval.
“Zane, I’m going to come.”
I’m with you, Olivia, all the way.
With that, he sped up and she flew to the pinnacle and soared over the top. He let go of her throat at the same time and roared. His mating vibration flowed into her body in a way she couldn’t fathom, then whipped over her own vibration, adding to the ecstasy that poured through.
Another wave of pleasure streaked first through her well, then her abdomen, tightening her breasts and swelling her chest.
She screamed as the pleasure kept flowing, as his mating vibration teased her own.
Zane, as before, slowed for a moment then shouted a second release.
When a third release took her to the pinnacle once more, Zane writhed behind her, shouting and roaring in turns, thrusting until he was at last fully released. Pleasure rained down on her, drifting through her body, easing her back from the shared ecstasy.
She lay on her arm deeply satisfied.
He surrounded her with his free arm and remained connected. “That was beautiful. Unbelievable.”
“I know. I’m in awe, Zane. Truly.”
“It’s you. It has to be. Or this blood rose thing. I don’t know exactly, except that I’ve never been so satisfied.”
“You released three times, like last time. Is that new?”
“Hell, yeah, it’s new.”
She sighed, feeling more content than she’d been in a long time. She didn’t understand all that was happening to her, especially being this close to Zane, but she was happy.
After her heart had settled down and she could breathe normally once more, she slipped from his arms and dropped into the water.
She turned toward him, laying her hand on his thigh, caressing him. “Since we have an appointment to keep, and I’m going to need to dry my hair, I think our time’s up.”
He nodded. He even smiled, and she realized just then how rarely Zane smiled. He always looked intense, even at the bar and definitely while commanding his troops and battling the Invictus.
But right now, he almost looked relaxed with that smile.
She paddled backward beneath the waterfall and felt the protective cloak grow thin and finally break.
He slid into the water, swimming after her.
Once on the shore, she used her jeans to dry off a little. She might even need to change once they were back at the treehouse complex.
He used his woven shirt and took his time to dry his legs off. Getting back into the leather would have been nearly impossible otherwise.
Once they were both dressed, he took her into the air and flew swiftly back to his bedroom treehouse.
As she dried her hair, she couldn’t help but wonder what they would find at the Fae Guild. Would the Ruby Fae, the woman called Regan, be able to dissipate Margetta’s spell around the Dead Zone encampment?
But even more troubling was Zane and this crazy journey she was on with him. She’d never had a real boyfriend before and she didn’t quite see how Zane could ever fit into her solitary existence.
Yet after being with him for just two short nights, she couldn’t imagine her life without him.
As she shut the hair-dryer off, she stared at herself in the mirror, her green eyes wide. A sheen of tears blurred her vision. Was it possible she was actually falling in love for the very first time?
CHAPTER FIVE
Zane loved to fly, just as much as Olivia enjoyed shifting and taking off on long runs.
With Olivia in his arms, he flew south, though remaining close to t
he Arundel Mountains. She wore a fresh pair of jeans and a light green, long-sleeved sweater.
The shifter lodge, near Donegal Springs, was located in the north of the range, while the Guild anchored the southern portion. He liked that two of his most powerful allies took up different parts of the Arundels.
As they reached the outskirts of the Guild land, Olivia said, “They’ve got an extensive farm and greenhouse up here. I’m impressed.”
“Our Guild is a bit different from most other realms because it resembles more of an artist’s retreat than anything else. A couple hundred women live here year round, studying and serving in the community. It’s a well-oiled machine.
“The Ruby Fae – Regan – lives on a separate property a few hundred yards distant, surrounded by brick walls and enclosed formal gardens. She has several guest cottages on her estate as well. Fae females come from all over the Nine Realms to serve her during an intensive mentorship. When I called earlier to arrange the meeting, she expressed a desire to see you.”
“Really? I wonder why? I mean, I’m not exactly a notable.”
“Apparently, she had a vision about you. But that’s all she said and no amount of coaxing on my part prompted her to elaborate.”
He set her down near the formal walkway that led to the front door. The path was lined on either side by carefully pruned rose trees.
Olivia turned in a slow circle, frowning slightly.
“What is it?”
“I’m feeling a vibration all around here,” she said.
Zane checked the skies again. “Regan keeps a spell in place to prevent the Invictus from locating the Guild. The charms are specifically oriented to the wraith-pairs otherwise we’d never have found this place.”
“Makes sense. I’m guessing Margetta considers Regan an enemy.”
“I’m sure she does.” He drew his cell from his pocket, but before making the call, he said, “I have to contact Mastyr Ian of Camberlaune. I’m going to need him as back-up.”
Olivia nodded, taking in the garden.
Zane made his call and the brother’s voice hit him like a punch. “What’s doin’, Zane?” Ian always had an edge.