M&L03 - SS (26 page)

My legs felt weak and I was
glad when he lifted me up into his strong arms. He explored my neck, more
insistent now, with soft lips and the occasional slide of his tongue. Tingles
of pleasure spread over my flesh and I rolled my head to the side, inviting
more of the delicious sensations. He was happy to oblige while he kneaded my
buttocks with gentle hands, his fingertips tantalizingly close to more intimate
places.

“How long will you tease me
Solomon?”

“Always so impatient...”

He turned and strode quickly
towards the bed where my back met the velvety softness of my favorite
comforter. A second later, his lips crushed mine and he kissed me hungrily with
one arm holding his weight while his other hand smoothed over my hip and thigh.
It all felt wonderful, but Solomon was right. I was impatient and I wanted
more.

I reached for his pants but
he lifted his head and grabbed my hands, pinning them to the bed on either side
of my head. “Not yet,” he gasped, shaking his head. “Once those come off I’ll
be inside you and there’s something I’d like to do first.”

I growled impatiently but he
just grinned and lowered his mouth to my neck. He only stayed there a moment
before moving further down to my breast where he drew my nipple into his mouth,
sucking hard then flicking his tongue over the tight peak. My back arched and I
moaned for him, long and low. A spike of arousal shot through the bond and I
finally understood how much he truly enjoys giving me pleasure.

He kept up his sensual
assault while I wiggled and squirmed. When I couldn’t take any more, he moved
to my other breast, giving it the same attention before painting a trail of
heat down my body. Soft kisses and teasing nips were placed on my belly, along
my hipbones, and then finally between my thighs.

Kneeling beside the bed, he
leaned in and swept through my feminine folds with a long, slow lick of his
tongue. The world dissolved and nothing existed but the warm glow that spread
over me as he delved further into my soft pink flesh. He pushed my legs up,
spreading me wide with my feet resting on his shoulders. His hands smoothed
over my inner thighs, caressing and kneading while his talented mouth pushed me
to the edge of sanity and beyond.

Tongue stroking, mouth
sucking, teasing my clit, then backing off before I went critical. The rapid
buildup of pressure had me gripping his hair with tight fists, holding on as
the moment of my release drew closer and closer. Every cell in my body was
singing with ecstatic delight. Then he added his fingers, plunging deep,
massaging while the inner muscles of my slick channel contracted around them.
Finally, he closed his lips over my swollen clitoris and sucked gently,
swirling his tongue over the sensitive bundle of nerves. The chorus reached a
crescendo and I went spiraling out of control, screaming and moaning with
rapturous bliss.

The world came back into
focus and Solomon was standing beside the bed removing his jeans. He tossed
them aside and I scrambled back, further onto the bed while he crawled after
me. He was already so long and hard and I could feel his desire raging out of
control. I expected him to plunge in hard and fast like he had the night he
marked me, but instead, he settled himself between my legs and kissed me
tenderly.

The tip of his erection was
nestled against my wet center, so temptingly close that a slight shift of my
hips would have him inside me. But I waited for him, enjoying the languid
strokes of his tongue against mine, the feel of his hard muscles beneath my
hands. When he drew back from the kiss, our eyes locked and I knew he was
seeing into my soul.

“You’re the only woman I’ve
ever loved Renee. Just the thought of you takes my breath away, but to be here
with you like this... It’s like a dream that I never imagined could come true.”

I reached up to brush his
hair out of eyes. “If this is a dream, then I never want to wake up.”

“Neither do I,” he whispered,
and eased forward to fill me with one long thrust of his hips.

I moaned for him as tiny
spasms of pleasure rippled through my entire being.

“I will never grow tired of
hearing that sound,” he promised, rotating his hips to elicit another moan from
me.

He continued with the slow,
sensual rhythm, caressing my hips and thighs while our mouths met for long,
lingering kisses. Every touch heightened my pleasure, but more importantly,
every second that passed strengthened our bond. I could feel him in my soul
now, his love for me so warm and protective, never-ending.

As our passion grew, he drove
his hard flesh deeper, penetrating much more than my wet depths. I clutched at
him, trying to merge our bodies into one, but he only lifted himself higher
until he was looking down into my eyes. I saw it then, our future. It was full
of love and friendship and endless days and nights like this one.

When the ecstasy of orgasm
eventually came for both of us, it wasn’t just a response to physical
sensations. It was an emotional awakening that brought tears to my eyes and
left me trembling in its wake.

“Shh...” Solomon soothed,
rubbing my back as he held me close.

“I never thought it could be
like this,” I whispered against his chest, barely hanging on to consciousness.
I felt completely overwhelmed like I needed to check out and regroup.

“I always knew it could be
like this, but only with you Renee, only with you.” He kissed the top of my
head and I closed my eyes letting sleep cl
aim me in the arms of
my mate.

~ Renee ~

It was the perfect picture,
taken with Solomon’s phone while I was lying on my back in a moment of
postcoital bliss. My right leg was bent with my knee standing straight up, and
though you couldn’t see it, my left leg was draped over his body just below his
right arm. He was on his side, facing me with his left arm wrapped around my
right thigh and his head resting comfortably between that hand and my leg. He
wasn’t looking directly at the camera, but rather at his right hand as it
smoothed over my flat belly. His lips glistened with my latest orgasm, but the
look on his face assured me there would be plenty more to come.

It was a look of wicked
promise from a man who knew exactly how to take care of his woman.

Remembered sensations had me
shivering as liquid heat pooled between my thighs.

“If you don’t stop looking at
that picture we’re never going to leave this bedroom,” Solomon remarked from
the bathroom doorway.

He rubbed his head with a
towel, then he tossed it aside and strode into the bedroom. His chest was still
bare and his black jeans had several chains and buckles giving them that gothic
look we both loved. When he came up behind me, he wrapped his arms around my
waist and rested his chin on my shoulder. I was still holding his phone in my
hand and I could feel his smile when he looked at the picture displayed on its
screen.

“I still can’t believe you
took that picture. It’s something anyone would expect me to do, but not you.”

“I still can’t believe I
passed out on you,” I groaned, forwarding the picture to my number before
locking the phone.

Solomon chuckled. “Don’t
worry, that first time was a bit overwhelming for me too, but we more than made
up for any lack of composure either of us might have shown - as evidenced by
that picture.” He nodded his head towards the phone. “If you want to watch
Katerina in the semifinals, we need to get going.”

He gave me a squeeze and
kissed my cheek before strolling over to the bed where he’d left his shirt. I
took a moment to admire his back and the vibrant colors of the mating mark. The
bond was complete now and I couldn’t have been happier. There was something
deeply satisfying about sharing my soul with Solomon. To feel his love, so warm
and strong, steadier than the beating of my own heart, was to know true peace
and belonging.

~ Solomon ~

When we arrived at the
stadium, Grayson and Rook were chatting near the main entrance. Renee thanked
Grayson for the gift of his blood, and he told her he was happy to help speed
her recovery along. Then she headed down to the locker room. She’d left her
cell phone and a few other personal belongings in a locker before her match
with Sergio and this was her first opportunity to retrieve them. I stayed
behind to hear all about Hannibal’s underwater experience the night before.

“I wish you could have been
there Solomon,” Grayson lamented, standing beside me. “If you had, maybe you
could tell me how he did it.”

“Explain it to me in detail.
Maybe I’ll be able to figure it out.”

“Picture the dance floors as
aquariums, but there wasn’t any glass keeping the water in place. You could
walk right through the barrier, and when you did, you were transformed into a
merperson; tail and all.”

I thought I knew exactly what
he was describing and looked to Rook for confirmation.

Rook nodded from where he was
leaning against the wall with his ankles crossed. He continued scanning the
crowds of people walking by, but explained, “It was similar to what you did
back in the eighties, but more elaborate, and he found a way to get around
everyone’s complaint that merpeople couldn’t have sex. I didn’t try it myself,
but Doyle said Rita might as well have been stroking his cock when she ran her
hands up and down his tail. Most of the women seemed to enjoy having their
tails rubbed as well. If you want to see it, I’ll take you back for a quick
look.”

I smiled, imagining aquariums
full of writhing merpeople wearing the faces of my friends. “Thanks for the
offer, but I think I have a pretty clear picture of what it was like. Did
anyone have difficulty breathing while they were underwater?”

“Not that I noticed,” Rook
answered, then looked at Grayson to see if he wanted to add anything.

Grayson was looking at Rook
strangely but shook his head and focused on me. “Breathing wasn’t a problem.”

“We don’t know each other
well Grayson, but I can tell something is bothering you now,” Rook said, coming
right to the point. As one of their Elders, it was his job to watch out for all
time demons, and to make sure none of them did anything to destabilize our
timelines.

Grayson met Rook’s black
gaze. I could tell he was nervous, but he stood tall when he faced the older,
more experienced time demon. “I was surprised by your offer to take Solomon
back in time. I can’t take anyone through time with me, but even if I could, I
thought we weren’t allowed to. My father told me never to use my powers for
frivolous reasons.”

Rook’s face softened, taking
on a fatherly smile. “The old Elders who murdered your father have been
banished or executed. We no longer follow their strict laws. You can manipulate
time any way you like; we just ask that you pay attention to your instincts.
The Goddess has a way of letting us know when something shouldn’t be changed.
If you ever get a really sick feeling in your gut, stop what you’re doing and leave
the timeline alone. If you don’t, I’ll know about it. As for taking people with
you...”

Rook shrugged, then
continued, “You may never be able to do that. It can’t be done with only your
innate powers. You have to access the River of Time, and only a handful of us
can do that. Even then, it takes great strength and a lot of practice to wield
the power of the River.”

 “Unless of course you’re
mated to a conduit,” I added, smirking at Rook. “Then you’d be hard wired into
the River and have that power flowing through your veins 24/7.”

“True,” Rook agreed, “but so
far, I’m the only one lucky enough to fall in love with a conduit.”

Grayson considered everything
Rook said then bowed to his Elder. “Thank you for the advice Sa’jon Ruk. I will
do my best to follow my instincts and let the Goddess guide my way.”

Rook inclined his head to the
other man while I reached into my pocket and pulled out my ring of runic
stones. Selecting one of the older stones, I removed it from the ring and
tossed it to Grayson. He caught the stone and examined the runes etched on both
sides.

“Consider it homework,” I
told him when he glanced my way. “That’s my underwater spell. I want you to
figure out how to trigger it, then make improvements as you see fit.”

Grayson looked at the stone
doubtfully, but I knew he was up to the task. When he slipped it into his
pocket he asked, “How did you just happen to have this stone in your pocket?”

“I brought several options
just in case one of the other sorcerers chose a theme that was too close to
mine.”

Rook narrowed his eyes at
something over my shoulder and frowned. When I turned to see what it was,
Monica was strutting towards us wearing her most seductive smile. Thinking this
needed to stop; I crossed my arms over my chest and gave her my least friendly
face. She stumbled a bit, but then she added a little more sway to her hips and
kept coming.

Some people just never
learned.

“Congratulations Solomon, I
see that you and Renee have finally completed your mating bond.” She seemed
sincere when her gaze slid over my arms and the mating marks. Then her eyes
took in the rest of my body and she stepped closer to me, purring like a
kitten.

I was about to tell her to
back off, but a spark of rage through the bond let me know it was already too
late.

Monica was standing close
enough to me that her breasts rubbed against my forearms when she said, “Maybe
now Renee will be a little more reasonable. That psychotic breakdown she had
before was completely uncalled for.”

I heard Rook stifle a laugh
behind me, but I didn’t bother hiding my mirthless snort. “I’m starting to
think you’re the one who might have had a psychotic breakdown Monica. You do
remember that we’re shapeshifters - right? That was the second time you
suggested Renee should share her mate with you and other women. What did you
expect her to do? Personally I think she went easy on you because if it had
been me, you’d be dead.”

“It’s different with Renee;
she’s always shared you with us,” Monica insisted, pushing her lower lip out in
a pout. She knew it was one of the things I found most difficult to resist, but
things had changed, and Renee’s bottom lip was the only one I’d be nipping at
from now on. Besides, Renee was coming up behind Monica now, and she was
furious.

“It’s not different Monica,
and I truly wish you could have understood that.”

Her brows drew together with
the first signs of worry. “Why do you say that like it’s already too late?”

“Because this is your third
strike Monica,” Renee answered for me.

Monica spun around to face my
much smaller mate. If I hadn’t trained Renee myself, I would have been
terrified to see her face off with the other woman. “You won’t get the jump on
me again Renee. This time I’m prepared.”

Renee snorted. “And why you
think that matters is beyond me.”

I knew Renee had been hoping
Monica would back off after their last encounter. She’d never liked violence,
but like me, she knew it was sometimes necessary in our world. As my mate, she
was now the female clan leader for our group of fox shifters. If she let Monica
slide again, she’d lose the respect of the entire clan. I could feel her
resolve through the bond, but with it was a deep sense of loss for the life she
was about to take.

There was a tense moment when
I actually thought Monica might bow down and admit she’d been in the wrong.
Renee still wouldn’t have let her live, but it would have been much harder for
her to land the killing blow. Then Monica made it easy and proved just how
deserving she was of her fate.

“If you won’t share him, then
I’ll just have to kill you,” she announced. “Then your mating bond won’t mean
shit.”

By the time Monica was
finished speaking she was already lunging for Renee. My mate was quick on her
feet as she ducked under Monica’s flying fist, then came up with a blow of her
own. The women traded punches for a while; Monica’s wild and frenzied; Renee’s
calculated and controlled. A crowd gathered and bets were made. I even threw a
couple hundred into the mix just to show I wasn’t worried.

About two minutes into the
fight, Renee landed a kick to the side of Monica’s head. Before Monica could
shake it off, Renee stepped in and flipped the taller woman over her shoulder.
Once Monica was on the ground, Renee grabbed a handful of her hair and slammed
her face into the stone floor of the stadium entrance. She did it a few more
times using every last ounce of her supernatural strength. The bones in
Monica’s face shattered as she screamed and blood gurgled from her mouth.
Through it all, the crowd cheered and Renee bared her teeth, hiding how much it
pained her to know how this fight would end.

Finally, Renee’s claws slid
out of her right hand - not the claws of her fox, but the thick talon-like
claws of her vampire. They were razor sharp and strong enough to cut through
steel. Renee’s hand came down, hard and fast, her claws slicing through
Monica’s flesh and bones like they were made of butter. When she raised her arm
into the air, she was holding Monica’s heart in her hand.

To the crowd gathered around
the spectacle Renee was a savage beast, everything she was expected to be when
defending her place by my side. Only I could feel the heartache she felt for
having been backed into this corner.

Rook asked a couple of his
security people to remove the body and I grabbed Renee before she could break
down. It would all be for nothing if she let them see any weakness now. I
captured her lips for a searing kiss before anyone could see her tears and
backed her into a portal.

Once we were through the
shimmering rainbow of colors, I closed the gateway and looked around. I’d taken
us to the first place that popped into my mind and was thankful to see stars
above the Statue of Liberty instead of sunlight. It was dangerous to travel
through portals without planning ahead, but I hadn’t had time to think. Renee’s
grief was so strong that I knew I had to get her out of there as fast as I
possibly could. Now, I wrapped the shadows around us and held her close while
she cried the last of her tears.

When she finally settled down
she whispered, “I’ve never killed anyone before Solomon.”

“I hope you never have to
again.” I brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her forehead.

She stepped back, away from
me and wiped at her cheeks. “Why did you bring us here?”

I glanced around, admiring
the beauty of the night sky and the majestic statue before us. “Honestly it was
the first thing that popped into my head. Kind of like Dan Aykroyd and the Stay
Puft Marshmallow Man on
Ghostbusters
.”