AFamiliarFace (6 page)

Glancing down at Mallory, he suddenly noted the pounding pulse at her neck, screaming at him to sample just a small taste. Remembering how pleasurable she’d been when aroused, how sweet she’d tasted on his lips, he grew hard, making walking uncomfortable.

He tried to control his urges, but it wasn’t easy. He stopped moving and bowed his head to pray.
Help me, Ratlaharan, to treasure this gift. Protect her from the evils of temptation, and let us begin our journey to freedom once more
.

A tingling grew in his legs, and power revitalized him. Thanking his creator, he continued the trek toward Yuka, more determined than ever to save himself and his woman, and to drown himself in her scent once more.

* * *

Mal woke to a splitting headache.  Groaning, she sat up carefully, aware her surroundings had once again changed. A glance into the darkened sky showed three moons, a marvel of her new reality. Soft leaves rustled under her body as she shifted, and she stared in surprise at the forest of trees around her. Considering the short time she’d been on this planet, when not in that underground nest, she’d seen sand and more sand. So where the hell had this place sprung from?

More importantly, where was Core?

She recalled him bleeding, wounded, yet still protective of her. He’d looked pale and ill, his eyes yellow and his skin almost white. He had taken on so many Phrellians, his wounds courtesy of those white-haired demons. She needed to see him, to know he’d survived.

Aside from her own headache, which even now started to fade, she felt more than fine. The small yellow bed of leaves and moss tingled where it met her skin. She wondered if the area had medicinal properties, knowing it could help Core. She rose to her feet and studied the area, looking for signs he’d been near.

Bingo.
She spotted large footprints leading away from her and followed them with undue haste, unable to stem her worry. She found him several yards away under a large canopy of red and yellow-leaved trees. His chest rose and fell in a slow steady rhythm, and she thanked Hecate he lived.

Though he remained covered in blood, he had no more than a few superficial wounds. A nice bath and he’d clean up hale, hearty and gray. She smothered a grin. Funny how much his odd coloring now seemed so normal.

As she studied him, she felt a surge of possessiveness. Core had protected her. He’d given her his body, his life seed. He was hers…at least until she returned home. A feeling of restlessness filled her, and she had to remind herself she couldn’t stay in this foreign world. Clearly she didn’t belong.

He murmured something and shook his head, his soft hair tickling his cheeks. In sleep he appeared human, large and graceful, but with a gray skin tone. She could easily imagine him at home with her. He’d fit in with her crowd a lot better than Rattler did. The thought of using his “true self” as her familiar was exciting. She warmed at the thought. No more slumming it, no more having to use herself to do her magic. And unlike her other familiars, Core had so much
more to offer.

As soon as she thought it, she grimaced in self-disgust. Core was more than a familiar, than a symbol of wealth and privilege. Here lay a leader, a male who had sacrificed much to ensure the survival of his people. She scowled up at the sky, not surprised by the fact that vamps, be they Newtown vampires or Phrellians, were a pain in the ass in any universe.

“Mallory?” Core rumbled, blinking up at her. “You are well?”

Thank Hecate.
“Great. I think the plants helped me recover faster. At home, it would’ve been days before I could raise my head after using that kind of magic.”

He nodded and closed his eyes, breathing deeply. “I am glad. I was worried at how hard you seemed to sleep.”

“What about you?” She ran her hands over his chest with care, tracing the scars that even now healed. “You’re covered in blood, but you look much better than when I last saw you. I’d swear those Phrellians tried to carve into you like a turkey.”

He frowned. “Turkey?”

“Never mind.”

He shook his head. “I was injured, but the Yuka trees have speeded my healing, as they have yours.” He sat up and flexed his arms.

She stared, helplessly drawn to the wall of muscle of his upper torso. She was such a sucker for a good upper body.

He blinked at her. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Clearing her throat, she tried to sound normal and not as if she wanted to jump his bones. “Do you think we can find some place to clean up? I feel gross, as if I still have the breath of those Phrellians on me.”

He grimaced at himself. “I understand the feeling.” He stood and reached for his weapons belt, not a trace of pain on his face. “Come with me.”  

He led her several yards away into a cave. “Don’t worry about the dark. I can see well enough.”

They walked through the darkness in quiet, and Mal wondered at the peace flowing through her. Though she couldn’t see, Core could, and the simple trust she felt in being with him startled her. How had she managed to connect with him in so little time? Again, it was as if she’d known him for years, and that they’d always been close.

“Here we are.” Core squeezed past a narrowing in the rock walls.

They exited the cave into a smaller grotto, lit by moonlight streaming through a hole in the ceiling. The condensed, intimate area had a small pool surrounded by rocks, interspersed with the same yellow-green moss she’d seen outside. The walls were smooth, though, making her think the cave had been man-made and not crafted by nature.

“This is beautiful.” No small exaggeration.

“The healers of my people have come here for years.” Core followed her gaze. He ran his hand over the wall. “They found that the spring running below the caves has restorative properties. And in this particular grotto…” He smiled—a grin that made her toes curl. “The waters are particularly stimulating.”

His look left little to the imagination. As he removed his kilt and boots, she saw clear evidence of his intent.

“Are you sure you’re, ah, okay for this? You looked in pretty bad shape earlier.”

“Trust me. I’m fine. But I’ll be better when you’re as naked as I am.”

She gauged his reaction as she stripped out of her clothes. His nostrils flared and his eyes changed, glowing with heat, the pupils elongating. He closed the distance between them, stopping a foot from her.

“You smell so good,” he murmured, staring deeply into her eyes. “I want to bury myself inside you and never let go.”

Her heart raced and she stared, unable to say anything. Had she ever been looked at with such hunger? With such all-consuming need?

“Come here,
kina
, that I might show you my full appreciation.”

She smiled, both amused and aroused that the fierce warrior before her seemed so smitten. Taking a step forward, she let out a small shriek when he grabbed her in his arms and walked into the warm pool behind her.

Chapter Five

They sank into the water, Core up to his neck, with Mal wrapped around him for support. He quickly washed them both, giving her breasts an extraordinary amount of attention.

“Mmm, that’s what I needed. Warm
kina
to cure me.”

She laughed and kissed him solidly on the lips, growing used to the heat he continued to fuel inside her. “I don’t know how you do it, but around you, I’m perpetually in heat.”

He groaned and ravaged her mouth, all but taking her breath. The feel of his tongue teasing hers, of his lips sucking and sliding over her mouth, her cheeks and throat, set her on fire.

“I like the thought of you in heat,
kina
. To know that only I can satisfy you.” He walked into a shallower section, so that the water lapped the middle of his chest, and wrapped her legs around his waist. Then he thrust up hard into her.

She closed her eyes and groaned, wanting more, now, faster. Core complied, rocking into her, thrusting over and over until she couldn’t think. Each push grazed her clit, and she came in a blaze of feeling, sensation skittering like novas behind her closed lids. He came soon after, filling her with small shocks of bliss that shot her over the edge again.

“I’m sorry, Mallory.” Core rubbed his forehead against hers as he tried to catch his breath.

She could only nod, wondering what the hell he had to be sorry about.

“I didn’t mean to rush it, but you’re so prime.” He groaned and shifted, sliding out of her before thrusting in again. “Ratlaharan has blessed me beyond all of my kind.”

“Core.” She sighed, feeling him stir within her.

“But I show his gift little value do I not worship properly.”

She squirmed over him, uncomfortable at his continued references to her as a gift. Mallory knew what she was.
Gift
didn’t come close to the description.

“Look, Core. Much as I love what you do to my body…” She moaned as he rotated his pelvis. “Wait, stop. I can’t think.” He stopped moving, and she spoke before she forgot her own name. “I’m no gift. I’m a trade witch, the lowest of the low. I can’t afford high quality charms and spells, let alone a familiar. Most of my magic is raw. My life is spent working paycheck to paycheck, and the only reason my super hasn’t kicked me out yet is that he likes having me under his thumb as much as he likes staring at my ass.”

Core scowled. “This ‘super,’ he bothers you?” The passion burning them both cooled as real rage replaced his ardor.

“Uh, Core? You can relax. I could kick my super’s ass blindfolded.”

He seemed fixated on his anger, as if she needed protecting from Morty the Jerk.

“Look, big guy, I’m kind of stuck on you, literally, and I’m hoping for some more of your appreciation.”

She moved over him and brushed her breasts against his chest, which had begun to harden into a scaly shell. She wouldn’t have guessed it, but his anger aroused her, stimulating her desire once more.

“Hecate’s cauldron, but you have to be the sexiest man I’ve ever laid eyes on.” She nibbled his neck, then sucked hard on the pulse beating rapidly and heard him groan. She nipped him, biting to leave a mark, and he stiffened inside her. “So you like it rough?” She stroked his chest before clamping her teeth over his nipple. She didn’t bite hard, but gave him enough pressure to show she meant business.

He gasped and pushed her back against the pool’s wall. “Mallory,
kina
, that wasn’t nice.” He began pumping, as if unable to help himself, and she loved the feeling of fullness he brought when he pushed his deep inside her. “I wouldn’t be doing my duty if I didn’t worship you properly.”

When he withdrew, she groaned. “Core, don’t stop now.”

With a strength she admired, he carried her toward the inclined portion of the pool. But instead of leaving it, he put her belly down on the mossy ledge and palmed her ass as if it belonged to him, tilting her so that the water no longer covered her bottom.

“I haven’t been devoted enough,” he murmured, his voice thick with desire. She felt him spread her thighs before a thick finger teased between her cheeks.

“Core,” she warned, not sure about this. “That is one place I’ve never…
ah
.”

He pressed his pinkie finger deeper, pushing against her sphincter before retreating. “To properly show my devotion, I must fill your vessel with my seed.” He slid another finger into her vagina, soaking it with her cream. Then he withdrew his pinkie and placed the slick finger at her anus, rimming the outside before slowly pushing it in. “The pleasure will spiral out, and soon you will be filled not only here, but in that pretty pussy as well.”

She gasped, feeling stretched and completely unnerved by the heady sensations coursing through her blood. She’d never had anal sex, had never wanted to. But the incredible pleasure pulsing within her made her greedy for more.  How could he feel so damn good?

His finger continued past the slim resistance in her ass, and suddenly she felt him everywhere. Then he added another finger and scissored them both inside her, preparing her for all of him. Before she could hold onto the feeling, he pulled out, leaving her body empty, bereft.

“You see, Mallory, I have yet to show you my true self,” he growled, his passion goading her own. A broader instrument nudged at her pussy and thrust. He speared her with that thick cock, coating himself as he excited her unbearably.

“Yes, Core. Please. That feels so good.”

She moaned when he withdrew, but he didn’t give her a chance to miss him. He positioned himself at her ass. She clenched as he began prodding with his cock. A soft nip at her shoulder startled her, and then a hazy lassitude turned the bite of pain to pleasure. What should have been uncomfortable turned into an erotic journey toward climax as he seated himself balls deep.

Then he began to move.

Thick, burning and then filling, his rhythmic pounding made her half crazed. And then he stunned her by adding what felt like another shaft into her pussy.

“My true self burns for you,
kina
.” He chuckled, the movement thrusting him deeper toward her womb.

“How—?”