Shadow Mated (Ouachita Mountain Shifter Book 5) (7 page)

Gash gave a sexy chuckle and pulled away to undo his belt. “Settle down, my tiger. Goddamn, your eyes are gorgeous like that.”

“Like what?” Oh no. That voice didn’t sound like her. It was too feral.

He eased his zipper down and drew in a hissed breath as he revealed his bulging erection. “Like you can barely hold your cat back. Out of control. I fucking love making you wild like this.”

Gash was thick, and straining as though he’d been ready for a long time. He held it at the base for her attention. Leaning forward, she wasted no time getting to know this part of him. She took him between her lips, sucking softly as her purr grew louder.

Gash’s jaw went slack while he watched her, eyes hooded, gently thrusting into her mouth. His hips barely moved and she could tell he had a stern grip on his control. It was impressive, but how long would it last, she wondered. She wanted to make him lose control too.

“Bailey,” he shuddered, his voice cracking.

She released him, and with a snarl, pushed up, forcing him back against the mattress. His eyes flew wide as she maneuvered his pants off and straddled his waist.

“Holy shit, woman,” he muttered. “I was trying to be gentle with you.”

Bailey shook her head. “I don’t need gentle.” She circled her hips over his hardness, teasing him with her folds while he slid a rough hand up to squeeze her breast. “Claim me. Give me your cat.”

She was relieved her voice had gone back to normal, and happy to see Gash’s eyes flickering from human to feline under his dark brows. He was a stunning male.

“Hard?” he asked, unsure. “You want it hard?”

“I want to know I’m yours. That you’re not holding anything back. And…” She hesitated with the last part. Maybe they weren’t ready for this. Maybe they weren’t this far into it. “I want everybody else to know it too.”

She went still, waiting for his answer, doubt lingering to creep back into her mind.

“Oh, they’re going to know, mate,” he growled. “I’m going to mark you up so good, there won’t be room for any doubt. One look at you and they’ll know you belong to me.”

With that promise, he gripped her waist and lifted her high before slamming her down on his erection.

All the air left Bailey, as Gash went eerily still, the moment of their connection suspended on her silent gasp. Seconds ticked by and he leaned up, pulling her face down for a deep kiss, but still he didn’t move inside her.

“Tight, Bailey,” he breathed. His chest moved shallowly. “Too tight. Won’t hurt you.”

But the initial shock was wearing away, and the fullness felt divine. And there was something else happening too. The bond. It was strengthening, becoming a solid tie between his heart and hers. Two fractured pieces becoming one unified miracle.

Bailey cradled his cheeks, millimeters from his lips, both of them, barely breathing. Eye to eye, communicating wordlessly, in that intense way of his. Except now she understood him.

The conflicts of his heart. Regrets from his past, and wanting a future with her so badly he could taste it, but never expecting it to happen. Fear that he’d put her in danger. Determination to be a good mate for her.

It was everything she could have asked for.

She moved on him, her hips inching back and forth so he’d know she was okay. And he got the message, pushing off the bed to meet her thrusts. Careful at first, but when a moan of pleasure escaped her, he threw caution to the wind, his hips bucking in an urgent rhythm.

Bailey stared down between them. The sculpted ridges of his abs flexed with each push, meeting her soft curves but it didn’t seem like a mismatch to her now. They seemed perfect for each other. He was hard shell, soft center. She was soft on the outside, and tough where it counted. In spirit.

They complimented each other, the way true mates should.

Pleasure was building to a point where she couldn’t contain it. The fierce look on her mate’s face only added to the building bliss.

“Gash,” she groaned.

Moving at an inhuman speed, he flipped her onto her back, pinning her to the mattress with his hips.

“Say it again, sexy like that. I want to remember how it sounds.”

He swiveled his hips to encourage her cooperation.

“Gash,” she moaned again, so close to the edge her toes were hanging off ready to take on the freefall of her life.

“Fuck, yes.” Bracing one hand on the bed, he gripped her hip with the other and set a brutal pace, his gaze holding her prisoner the whole time.

She knew the moment it was too late to turn back. The bond snapped into place and she felt altogether vulnerable and safe. They were bare to each other in body and soul, and it was the single most wonderful feeling in the world.

Gash slowed, his face going dark. “The Alley Cats mark their mates on the cheek. I’m not going to do that to you, Bailey. I’m Ouachita now. I’ll mark you like a Ouachita cat.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but in a blink, she found herself back on top, straddling Gash while he kissed her lips hard. The kiss and his hips pushing into her tossed her into oblivion. Pleasure wracked her body, sending flutters to her middle that seemed endless.

“My Bailey,” he snarled desperately against her ear.

She felt the swipe of his claws at the same time his release flooded her with his unique scent, and groaned in delight at the finality of it.

Marked good
, her tiger purred.
So very good
.

The sting of it was sharp, burning along her entire back, but it was quickly forgotten as another orgasm ripped through her, stronger than the first, leaving her limp with exhaustion.

His. So very his
.

Bailey collapsed onto Gash’s chest, her hair falling over him in a tumble she wasn’t willing to sort out. And god, were those sounds coming from her? She snapped her mouth close and realized they were. Which brought on a round of giggles.

His chest pumped with heavy breaths, and his hand landed softly on her head. “Mate?”

“Mm hm?” she answered drowsily.

“Why are you laughing?”

Bailey sighed, unwilling to move away from him. If he wanted her to, he was going to have to physically move her.

“Because I’m happy,” she whispered.

His hand went still on her head. His breath stopped moving his chest. Bailey pressed a soft kiss to his sternum, and he breathed again.

“Good,” he rumbled, wrapping his arms tight around her. “Good.”

Chapter Seven

Gash laid still as possible, listening to Bailey’s soft snore. She definitely needed the rest after what they’d done. A grin lifted his cheeks. Oh, the things he’d done to her… it hardly seemed real. But the claw marks down her back were proof he wasn’t dreaming.

He’d double clawed her. Two broad slashes stretched from each shoulder to the opposite hip to form an X across her back.

X marks the spot
.

She was
his
. He was
mated
. To the kindest, sweetest female. He couldn’t wait to make her a mother.

Careful, so he wouldn’t wake her, he traced the line of her back with his fingertips. She lay on her side, and her profile formed several mountains and valleys. Gash loved every single one. Every inch of her belonged to him, and he planned on worshipping her at any foreseeable opportunity.

He fingered her mating mark. It was huge, just like he promised. And wicked red now, but it would heal beautifully.

Gash swallowed the knot in his throat, but it didn’t stop the feeling growing in his chest. It was gratitude and relief and crippling fear all rolled into one. He wanted to tell someone—the fates, the creator, hell, maybe even God above if he existed—thank you.

Thames believed in God. Wanted a chapel to pray in. Maybe his brother had a good laugh at that, but lying here next to Bailey, Gash couldn’t blame the guy for believing. There had to be a higher power. How else was it possible for someone who’d done so much wrong to be given such a sweet gift?

Tears wet his eyes and he didn’t bother wiping them away.

What the hell could it hurt to believe? He had to tell someone, and why not Thames’s god. No one else would understand how much this meant to him.

“Thank you,” he whispered quiet enough not to wake her. The gratitude he felt couldn’t be squashed into those two words, but they’d have to do. “Now, if you don’t mind. Help me keep her safe.”

There. That felt better.

Gash pulled the sheet over them and pressed his body against hers, careful not to put pressure on her fresh mark. Feeling more peaceful than he had in ages, he drifted to sleep.

***

“One hundred and two, one hundred and three, one hundred and four…”

Adira rolled her eyes, grappling for patience. Nastia’s rock counting problem was going to be a challenge here in the Ouachitas. There were simply too many tempting little orbs for her to find.

They rounded a bend in the path, and she wondered how much farther until they reached the lodge. The kind man in town had guided them this way. Even brought them to the bottom of the hill. Lake Haven Lodge was the only thing at the end of this road, he’d said. Yet, they’d been walking for what seemed like hours and hadn’t arrived yet.

She glanced up to find the moon, but it hadn’t moved much from the last time she’d checked. Okay, so maybe it hadn’t been hours. Just seemed like it.

“One hundred and sixteen, one hundred and seventeen… ooooh!” Nasita bent to pick up an oddly shaped rock and held it in the air. “This one’s cute! Look, it’s shaped like a heart. I’m going to keep it for good luck.” She shoved it in the pocket of her frock and continued counting. “One hundred and eighteen, one hundred and nineteen…”

The only good news was she’d start over when she reached five hundred and eight. For some reason that was the magic number. They knew because she’d already restarted twice.

“Perhaps you could count in your head, instead,” Adira suggested.

“In fact, I dare you,” Mirena piped up. “A bet even. I bet you can’t do it quietly from here until the lodge. What do you say? If I win, you have to do my laundry for a week.”

“Nope,” Nastia said distractedly.

“Come onnnn,” Mirena urged. “Please? Please, please, please.”

Nasita sighed heavily, reaching over to smack Mirena square on the cheek. Hard, sending the sound of skin hitting skin reverberating throughout the forest. “Get a hold of yourself, woman,” she snapped. “We can’t be losing ourselves here. We must keep our minds.”

Mirena nodded, primly patting her black hair to make sure it was in place. “You’re right. Yes, you’re right. Thank you, sister.”

Nastia pressed her lips together benevolently. “You’re quite welcome.”

They continued walking and Nastia continued counting.

“But you could help me out by accepting my challenge. You know, it isn’t as easy for me to satisfy my curse as it is for you and Adira.”

It was true. Mirena was compelled to challenge people. Over the years, it had made her brave. But the other side of the coin required people to accept. That part wasn’t so easily accomplished.

Nastia glanced to the sky, and her shoulders sank. “Fiiiine.”

Mirena clapped her hands together with glee, and Adira was pretty happy with the decision too. It meant she wouldn’t have to listen to the counting anymore.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you—”

Nastia held up her slapping hand. “Don’t make me smack you again.”

Mirena sobered. “Right. Got it. Okay, so from here until the lodge you must count your blasted rocks to yourself. If you fail, the price is my laundry.”

Adira kept it to herself that they didn’t have much laundry for Nastia to wash. They’d packed four dresses each and undergarments to match in the small suitcase which floated along behind them. She’d cast a spell after they were dropped off, so they wouldn’t have to carry it. Being a Sorcera had many perks.

She glanced back to check it. The case bobbed and weaved several feet in the air, reminding her of a flying carpet, but as long as she kept walking, it would follow.

They went on in silence for a while. Her judgment of time was off so there was no indication how long, but it left her with plenty of room to think.

In the days since their communication with the Elder, their power had dimmed and their vices had worsened. Especially Nastia’s. She now included bricks in her necessary counting of rocks ritual. Even though Adira and Mirena assured her, bricks were different than rocks and they didn’t count.

Adira hoped the lodge wasn’t made of bricks.

But even with their powers lessened, they were still a force to be reckoned with. Adira was certain they could still be of help to the shifter clan. Tonight they would test their plan and be sure.

They’d come up with the most perfect spell. Well,
they
hadn’t per se. Rather they’d found it in one of the old tomes Nastia had horded away over the years. It was an ancient spell from the days before America was a nation. Before their ancestors were persecuted in the villages and they’d been forced to hide their magic.

There was a clearing up ahead and Adira saw it at the same time her sisters did, each of them picking up the pace to reach it faster.

Cresting the hill, they spotted the immense lodging, built out of wood—not bricks, thankfully. It stood tall with a grand front window that looked out to the west. A place to watch the sun set, she realized.

It was lovely.

Lanterns were strung from the main building to several other small ones, and to a quaint little footbridge that crossed over the part of the lake that backed right up to the lodge. They were brightly lit, and almost blinding after the long trek in the dark with only the moon and stars to light the way.

“We’re here,” Mirena murmured.

They stopped just beyond the parking lot full of vehicles, not quite under the lighting. The suitcase dropped to the ground with a thud, and Adira reached back for the handle.

“Do you feel that?” Nastia asked, breathing deep, her eyes fluttering closed.

Adira followed her lead, tilting her head to the sky and letting her senses roam. But it wasn’t the stars beaming power to them, it was something else. An odd peace settled over her, creating warmth in the center of her chest.

“It’s
wonderful
,” Adira murmured. “Powerful.”

“What causes it?” Mirena slurred and swayed on her feet. Adira had never seen The Bravest’s face so relaxed. So calm she could be sleepwalking.

A growl rumbled from deep within the forest, jerking the Sorcera out of their newfound tranquility. Adira had expected to face the animals upon arrival. The shifters would be on high alert. But she hadn’t expected the animals to sound so fierce, so deadly. Ready to kill, ask questions later.

She glanced at Nastia and Mirena. They might have to use their power just to be heard. They hadn’t accounted for this.

The growling grew louder and seemed to come from every direction. Adira dropped the suitcase and turned in a circle, eyes scanning for the source of the sound. She couldn’t see the animals, but they were surrounded, that much she was sure of.

“Look,” Nastia hissed.

Adira followed her gaze and spotted a tall, slender woman walking toward them from the front entrance of the lodge. She dressed like a commoner in a pullover sweater, jeans, and thick soled hiking boots. Her hair was long and dark, like Mirena’s, falling even with her waist. But unlike Mirena, her skin was bronzed instead of pale. With her prominent cheek bones, she reminded Adira of pictures from Nastia’s books. The Quapaw, Choctaw, and Cherokee. Those who were able to keep light magic without an anchor.

She walked with purpose, not afraid of them at all, and as she drew closer, Adira could see an odd flickering behind her eyes. Shifter.

Stopping several feet away, she crossed her arms over her chest and said, “Do you have a reservation?”

Nastia and Mirena looked to Adira instead of answering. Oh sure, leave it to the perpetual rhymer to do all the talking.

“No. I don’t think so.” There. That wasn’t as hard as she’d thought it’d be.

“Well, we’re full,” the woman said. “You’ll have to come back tomorrow. Preferably in the daytime.”

Adira looked around. The growling was getting closer, growing louder even still.

“We need a place to stay. If that’s okay.”

“It’s not,” the woman snapped. “Didn’t you fucking hear what I said?”

Adira’s head jerked back at the unladylike profanity. Mirena stiffened beside her, and she was afraid to even look at Nastia.

“We’re staying,” Mirena said, taking a brave step forward. “And
I dare you
to try and stop us.”

Adira swung her head around to glare at her sister. But her attention was stolen when from out of the forest, beasts emerged, snarling with barely contained rage. Three massive black panthers. A leopard—but bigger. Maybe a jaguar? And a mountain lion that stood out from the rest because he was snarling more than the others.

She expected to see the cats. It was the two colossal grizzlies that had her rethinking things. They were nearly identical. One reared back on his hind legs, chuffing a growl before circling around behind the three Sorcera.

“This is the second goddamn night in a row we’ve had to leave our homes to deal with trespassers,” the woman said flatly. “And as you can see, we’re running low on patience. It’s time for you to leave.
Now
.”

Adira straightened her shoulders. She could rifle through her words and come up with a poetic way of saying,
back off, we’re here to help
. But it’d probably be faster to just show them.

There were seven animals and the sisters had only six hands. They were going to have to disable six of them quickly and hope the seventh would be too scared to fight. But who to pick? She could
eeny miny mo
it and her chances would probably be the same whichever animal she landed on. They didn’t look like the type who scared easily.

Adira took a deep breath, feeling her power stir within her. She drew from the stars and she drew from the new source she didn’t yet understand. Then she murmured quickly under her breath to her sisters, “Two for you, two for me. Except the cougar, leave him be.”

Then without warning, the three threw their hands forward, fingers curved like claws in the air, and began chanting the spell that would force the animals back into their human forms.

“
Reditum donum
.” Return home. “
Ad animum
.” Back to the soul. “
Reditum donum.
Power to power, fate to fate.
Ad animum
. Light to light, don’t separate.
Reditum donum. Ad animum.
”

Adira felt her light flare bright, radiating out of her to illuminate the entire area. She chose two panthers and focused her power on them, drawing theirs away like a drink through a straw.

“What the hell are you doing?” the woman screamed.

But it was too late. They were already affected, hunching over in the pain of a change, the power of their animals being drawn away temporarily and forcing them to become human again. All except the mountain lion whose eyes darted from one cat to the next and then to the bears, each in different stages of shifting.

The chanting grew louder, and Adira forced more of her power into it, making up the difference for Nastia’s lack of light. She was having trouble with the bear she’d chosen. He fought the change hard, his body twisting and contorting but never fully returning human.