She moaned, aching between her legs.
“I don’t even know you, Olivia. It feels strange to be doing this.”
She was too busy tasting him to let go. But you’ve worked up a lot of women at the Elf Lords Hideaway. Just think of me that way. I’m not innocent, and I have no expectations.
“You know about my activities at the bar?”
I think the entire realm knows what you’ve been up to.
At that, he laughed. “I just have one thing to say to that, Olivia: Where have you been all my life.”
She smiled. “And now that I’m here, how about we make the most of it. Because who knows when we’ll get the chance again.”
He caught her chin. “You’re beautiful, especially when you smile. Have I thanked you yet for getting me out of that camp?”
She reached up and kissed him. “The least I could do, Mastyr, since I know the sacrifices you make night after night on behalf of your realm.”
She slid her nose into his neck and nuzzled him, kissing the dagger and three drops of blood. Then, moving across to bite his shoulder, she licked his skin once more.
He groaned. “That is so hot. What are you doing?”
Tasting you, she pathed. Has to be a wolf thing. I love your muscles, your strength, your power. Biting you like this just feels right.
He fondled her back and her neck, his other hand sliding down to cup her bottom. “Well, whatever the reason, I love it.”
She released him, her chin low. She wasn’t exactly inside her human head. Instead, she was all wolf. Still facing him, she leaned in but slid her right leg behind his then gave him a hard shove. As planned, he lost his balance, landing on his back in the sand.
“What the fuck?” He scowled up at her.
She didn’t try to explain. Instead, she leaped on him, working the metal button at the top of his pants and when she had the zipper down, she eased his cock out.
He made no more protests as he relaxed into the moment.
She shifted to lie off to the side of him, stretching out in the sand, then took his cock in her mouth. As before, his hand stroked her back then put the nicest controlling pressure once more on the nape of her neck.
He was hung and beautiful and she’d been craving him, this, his cock, her mouth, with all her hot wetness between her legs.
“Who are you?” he asked.
Doesn’t matter right now. We can talk later. Or not. I don’t care. All I want is this, you, and I want you drinking at my throat again.
His cock jerked as her tongue played over him.
“Okay.” His voice was deep, so deep. And hoarse with need.
She stroked him as she sucked the head of his cock, rimming the sensitive edge with her tongue.
When he stopped her with a slight pressure on her shoulder, she understood and went to work removing his boots.
He started to rise, no doubt intending to help, but she shoved at his chest once more. “I’m doing this.”
“So demanding.” But he chuckled and again settled himself in the sand.
She touched the skulls along the side seams of his boots, every last one of them. How many times had she thought about doing this? Maybe not in the sand, but she’d wanted to finger the skulls while she unzipped his boots and got him out of his clothes.
By the time she was done, he lay naked, his hands laced behind his head as he watched her, his eyes glinting in the dark, his cock upright and ready for her.
She lost her blouse and that’s when he sat up halfway, supporting himself with his hands behind him. He settled his gaze on her cleavage then shifted slightly so he could touch her fur as she removed her bra. “Damn, this is sexy. I’ve never been with a shifter woman who offered up so much fur. I’m loving it.”
She didn’t unbutton her jeans. Instead, she held his gaze and slid her hands beneath her breasts and rubbed her nipples. His lips parted and a heavy groan left his mouth.
He moved swiftly, grabbing her and pulling her toward him. With the sheer strength of his arms, he held her above him, positioning her so he could take a nipple in his mouth. He sucked greedily, tugging all the while and she loved it.
She moaned, her back arching when he sucked harder. “Zane,” she whispered.
He shifted her again, pushing her away, his voice rough and commanding as he said, “Get out of those jeans. Now.”
She couldn’t remember moving quite so fast in her life as she rose up, kicked off her shoes, then unzipped and stripped.
She climbed on top of him right after, streaming from her well. She wasted no time, but impaled herself on his cock. He responded with slow curls of his hips as he pushed his way inside. And it felt so good.
She rocked over him, the motion pulling on his cock.
He caught her shoulders, dragging her down to him. He kissed her hard, his hips rocking and pulsing, catching her just right.
Zane, I’ve wanted this. I hated all those women because I wanted you for myself.
I wish I’d known. I would’ve offered.
I would have accepted. She drew back just a little. “But don’t think this means anything. I know you’re a player and it’s okay with me. No strings.”
His brows rose. “You sure? This feels like so much more than a one-nighter.”
“I’m not a relationship kind of woman. Thought you should know.”
The features of his face relaxed. “Then we’ll get along just fine.”
She nodded and arched her hips, which caused the most beautiful expression to pass over his face. He looked as though he was in pain, but she knew it was the opposite. She felt the same way.
Suddenly, he rose up and grabbed hold of her, flipping her onto her back. He’d stayed connected, only now he was plunging into her, moving fast.
She cried out. She was so ready.
He leaned close and she shifted her head to the side, knowing what he wanted. “Take from me.”
He licked the side of her neck, helping the vein to rise for him. She felt so laden, so ready for him to drink, her chest heavy with need.
When he struck, she cried out again, her well tightening around his cock. It wouldn’t take much to come, especially because he was sucking her throat. The feel of her blood leaving her body, feeding him, added to the fire between her legs.
“I’m going to come,” she cried out.
He grunted and moved his hips faster, drinking all the while.
The dual sensations of his hips and his mouth at her neck took her on a long, exquisite ride straight up to the pinnacle. She flew over as pleasure gripped her, pulsing as he moved. Upward, the sensation flowed until her chest felt encased in fire.
Suddenly, he drew off her neck and roared. The sight of him, full of passion, sent her flying toward ecstasy a second time. As he moved into her, she came with him again, her own cries joining the guttural sounds that left his throat.
After a time, when the wave passed, he settled his forearms on either side of her and rested his body against hers.
Her arms fell away, her fingers playing in the sand. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so good.
“That was wonderful,” she said. “Just what I needed.” For some reason, her throat grew very tight, aching in a strange way that brought tears to her eyes. She wasn’t a woman given to weeping, never had been. But something about being with Zane had gotten to her, striking a chord deep inside her that both moved and frightened her. Was he right? Was this more than a one-night anything?
His gaze strayed to her chest. “Your ruff and the sexy fur across your lower abdomen still hasn’t gone away.”
His comment eased her back from her sudden fears and concerns. She responded in kind. “I know. Some of it just stays with me, and when it leaves, it doesn’t take much for it to reappear. I can get excited about a cooking show and suddenly I have fur on the backs of my hands.”
He smiled and kissed her. “Thank you for the sex and your blood.” He got a funny look on his face.
; “What?”
He slid a hand between them, pressing against his stomach. “Oh, shit. I don’t hurt.”
Olivia stared at him as the meaning of his words hit her. She’d read enough of the blogs that talked about the blood rose phenomenon to know that there was always one irrefutable sign: the donor’s blood took away the mastyr’s pain. “You’re not hurting at all, are you?” Panic set in and her heart raced.
She wasn’t kidding when she’d said she wasn’t a relationship kind of woman. She’d lived alone for so long; she wouldn’t know what to do with a man long-term.
“Not even the smallest cramp, and I’ve had this pain for decades. I never thought I’d be free of it. I can’t believe it. But … that makes you … oh, holy fuck.”
She grabbed for some air because she felt horribly dizzy, even though she was lying flat on her back. “This can’t be. I mean I knew I was different. I have this cloaking thing and I sprout fur so easily and I can ghost you.”
“I don’t know what that means, that you can ‘ghost’ me.” Still connected, he frowned down at her. “Are you saying you have a way of tracking me?”
“If you want to call it that. And yes, I’ve been tracking you for months.”
Her gaze shifted along the cliff-line above, over the stars, at the moon just cresting the mountains to the east. She had to get away from him, from this. Maybe her shifter wanted to be close, but the human side of her was scared to death.
She pushed at him and he drew out of her, letting her go.
She hopped to her feet. “I’m going for a swim.”
~
Leaning back on his knees, the sea air cool on his heated cock, he watched as Olivia shifted once more to her wolf state and headed toward the water. He’d felt an odd vibrating snap once she was a few feet away. It took him a moment to realize the sensation had been the release of her cloaking ability. He was now visible.
He wasn’t too concerned. His escape from the camp wouldn’t be understood for a long time, if ever. So Margetta and her forces would have no idea which way to go if they wanted to hunt for him.
He remained where he was for a good long while. He’d never been so stunned in his life by all that had happened. He’d been trapped and whipped by Margetta, then later had a wolf licking his face while he lay prone in his captor’s tent.
He planted his fist on his right quad and stared at the wolf bounding in the ocean, swimming, then bounding out of the water for incredible distances, only to dive back in.
Olivia. A shifter. A blood rose.
Yet his instincts told him she was also part human and she wasn’t connected to Luther’s packs or he would have met her by now. Luther was the ruling alpha of the shifter community as well as the leader of his Shifter Brigade. All shifters, without exception, deferred to him.
The fact that Olivia wasn’t involved with the Swanicott packs meant, by Realm standards, that she was a rogue. Not to present herself to Luther on entering Swanicott was a violation of shifter law.
And she’d just confessed she had some way of tracking him, something she called ‘ghosting’.
So, who the hell was this woman?
He was grateful she’d left him to go for a swim. He needed time to dial down all the sensations that were coursing through him. He had no pain and Olivia had rescued him from a situation that could have easily ended in his death, possibly even the fall of the Nine Realms to Margetta.
He realized now why he’d been unable to resist biting her when they were still inside the camp. His first instinct should have been to get them the hell out of there. Instead, his focus had narrowed down to the intoxicating scent of her blood, that spicy-cinnamon scent he’d never forget so long as he lived.
Shit. A blood rose.
He took deep breaths, then remembered that he needed to make contact with Marian and Chase.
Pathing, he heard Marian’s voice break, even inside his head, Mastyr, is that you?
He’d been so caught up with Olivia, he’d forgotten that his people would have been worried about what happened to him.
I’m fine and I’m safe. He then relayed all that had happened, ending with, Did Chase take over for me?
Absolutely.
He nodded, even though Marian couldn’t see him. After I was abducted, how did things go at Britchett Falls?
The best we can figure is that when Margetta took off, her spell broke. Chase took his troops straight in and offed at least thirty Invictus. And you’ll be happy to know he had his men take those stupid wraith youths back to Wraith Island. None of them had actually completed the forging of the Invictus bond by the time Chase got to them.
He breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Thank the Goddess for that. His gaze tracked Olivia. He was frowning, still in shock that he felt no pain. By all the elf lords, had a blood rose really come to him?
Please let Chase and Sawyer know that I’m good, but that I have something critical I have to deal with before I can get back to either of them.
Got it. And Mastyr?
Yes? He really didn’t want a show of sympathy, and he cringed waiting for it.
Whatever you’ve got going on, don’t fuck things up.
At that, he laughed and ended the conversation.
Having taken care of business, he turned his attention back to Olivia. The water seemed to be calling him as well.
He rose up and headed toward the ocean. Once there, he dove in, and it felt so good. The temp was icy cold, but his skin was on fire from having made love to Olivia and taken her blood. A swim was just what he needed.
As soon as she saw him, however, she headed the opposite direction. He gave her the space she so clearly needed.
He swam beyond the breakers and floated on his back, staring up at the stars. When was the last time he’d done something like this? And how strange to think that a couple of hours ago, he’d been battling the Invictus in Britchett Falls.
The needs of his realm threatened to fall on him hard again. But with a new issue to resolve, as in what to do with his newly arrived blood rose, he shunted everything aside just to give himself a moment to ponder the conundrum of Olivia.
He didn’t want the connection. After his wife had been killed, he’d promised himself not to get involved with another woman. But Olivia wasn’t just any female; she had the power to resolve his chronic blood starvation forever. And that was not a small thing.
He backstroked a few yards and floated some more, until he heard the wolf barking.
Lifting his head, he saw that she was at the shoreline, barking at him and pawing at the sand. His heartrate ramped up. What’s going on? Trouble?
No. I want you here.
Why?
Just come. She pawed the sand a few more times and added a series of stronger yips.
Curious, he swam swiftly to shore, catching a ride on a couple of waves until he could stand up and walk through the surf.
She sat on her haunches, staring up at him. But even in her wolf form, her gaze drifted all over his body, lingering more than once on his cock. Of course the cold water wasn’t helping a proper presentation, but she’d already seen and felt him so she could let her memory figure things out.
As he left the water and drew close, he was about to ask her again what was going on, when she charged him. She turned at the last second and nipped the back of his knee.
“Ow! Hey!”
She turned and spread her front legs, butt in the air, tail wagging.
Well, hell. She wanted him to play.
He took her cue and charged her back. She spun and took off on a hard lope across the wetter part of the sand, running as fast as she could. Some long-forgotten part of him awakened in that moment, and he ran after her, putting on some of his vampire speed.
But every time he thought he might catch her, she bounded thirty feet in the air, hit the side of the cliff with both back paws simultaneously, then bounded off in the opposite direction. She raced across the sand.
He’d b
een running so fast he could hardly catch his breath, but he didn’t stop. The chase had worked his blood up and he followed her, his lungs pumping to keep up with how much he exerted himself.
But he still couldn’t catch her.
To hell with this, he thought. He levitated and added more speed until he caught her mid-flight. He dragged her through the air to the sand and pinned her.
She shifted beneath him, laughing and struggling to breathe. “That was wonderful, Zane. Thank you. I needed that.”
With one hand on her chest keeping her in place, he used his free hand to run his fingers over her V-shaped fur. And as his breathing eased up, his fingers traveled so that he was playing with her breasts and making her nipples tighten into firm buds.
One thing led to another and he entered her body, making love to her again. He held her gaze this time, wanting to watch her come, to watch pleasure pass over her features and to see her breathing once more grow ragged with passion.
As she came, she held him tight and cried out. He even released a second time, pouring all that he was as a man deep inside her.
Later, he watched her rinse off again, sensing she was much more relaxed.
Hell, so, was he.
He even chuckled. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled this much or even laughed.
And he had no pain.
He grew very still at this last thought. Despite his resistance to a relationship of any kind, he valued the sudden, dramatic cessation of decades of crippling stomach pain.
And Olivia, part human, part shifter, had brought this to him.
But who was this blood rose who lived across from the Elf Lords Hideaway, who tracked him in a strange way she called ‘ghosting’, and who’d saved his life because of a cloaking ability she possessed?
“We should get going,” he called to her.
She returned to her clothes and used her jeans to dry herself off. For a long, ridiculous moment, he watched her and lusted all over again. She was beautiful and built, with large breasts and full hips. She was also tall for a woman of any species and strong. If ever a woman had been physically made for him, Olivia fit the bill.