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Mari?
More rage flared before he got it under control. She felt him running, but couldn't tell where he was headed.
Stay where you
are. The caverns are dangerous.

   
I know. Cold and slippery, too.

   
The fenrir have been seen in the area, so be on your guard.

   He didn't ask her why she had been taken, but she didn't have time to ask what a fenrir was either. Whatever it was, was right in front of her.

   A huge wolf was snarling, its thin ribs showing through the fur. That was bad. This one was dangerous, hunger made it desperate.

   She tried to deter it with a wall of flame, but it just waited for her to flicker it out. When it lunged at her, she mentally apologised to her seamstress and took on her own wolf form, fire blazing on every hair follicle and out of her claws.

   He struck her hard on the shoulder, but the mouthful of flame he received sent him stumbling back and swiping at his muzzle with his

paw.

   She stood and lunged, snapping and snarling as blood flowed and drove her to kill.

   The battle became her entire world. She fought, bit, retreated and lunged again. He scored a few hits, but her body would repair when she became human again. He would not be so lucky.

   A roar that came from neither of them separated her from her attacker. The scent of enraged male overwhelmed the blood in the air. Tynir stood between her and the fenrir, shoving his arm down the wolf's throat and calling the cold.

   The wolf died after a few feeble swipes with its paws. Tynir threw it aside and turned to her. "Ah, Fehniel."

   She sat and tried to stop her rage, but it was still inside her and she couldn't shift back to her bipedal form.

   Tynir stroked her fur and her flesh cooled under his touch. She didn't fight him when he lifted her and carried her out of the tunnels.

   They were only half a kilometre from the keep and he carried her quickly to his home and with a few scattered words, the servants went running. The smells of the giants came far more easily to this shape and she memorised them all.

   Tynir was carrying her quickly. She smelled scorched skin and tried to pull back her flame. She was hurting him.

   She whined and kicked her legs to be let down, but he kept his grip. Gel ran in front of them and opened the door to Tynir's room. The scent of their coupling was still in the air, so she couldn't have been unconscious long.

   Gel ran for the bathroom and started running a bath. Tynir barked out another command and Gel left quickly, exiting the chambers efficiently.

   Fen smelled fear in the air. Many of the giants were sunk in it, but Gel was wallowing in it. She was happy that the woman wasn't there anymore. Fear stunk.

   Tynir stood next to the porcelain pool and without ceremony, dropped her into the water. The water was deep and it sizzled as she struck it. She paddled around as her body cooled to normal. Her natural form came easily as soon as she was cleared of the scent of blood.

   Tynir was watching her from the edge of the sunken tub. "Come here, Fehniel." He crooked his fingers and she floated toward him,

turning off the tap as she did so.

"Yes?"

   He threaded his hand in her hair and lifted her from the water for a hard kiss. His hand formed a fist and he held her tightly. "When were you going to tell me?"

   She drew a blank. "Tell you what?"

   "About you being a shifter."

   She couldn't help but laugh despite her awkward position. "I am my parents' daughter first, an elemental second and a shifter third. I never even thought about it."

   "You are mine. That should be first on your list."

   He punctuated his sentence with another hard kiss and she squeaked as a flicker of pain came to her.

   "Say it."

   "Say what?"

   "Say that you are mine." He kissed her again.

   "I will not say it." The water supported her, but the tight grip on her hair was making her eyes sting. She was hers and no one else's. He may have been in her mind and she had a care for his emotions, but she was not his. Not yet.

   "You will. Before you leave my rooms today, you will." The threat in his voice was implicit.

   
Sol?

   
Fen! How are you?

   
I am fine. Whatever you hear in the next few hours, I am fine, I
am safe and I am with Tynir, the frost giant.

   
Really?

   
He is mine the same way Morgarn is yours and mine is about to
prove it.

   
Thank you. Good luck.

   With that little chore taken care of, she allowed Tynir to lift her from the bath without a fight. He wrapped her in a long span of linen, carrying her to the bed. Straps and cuffs were laid out on the bed and it was at that moment that Fen realized that Tynir was not playing.

Chapter Five

If she had ever imagined her first fight with a lover, she could never have come up with the position he placed her in.

   Her arms were bent and fastened securely behind her back, her calves and thighs were banded with leather and then linked together, a belt around her belly formed an anchor point for her thighs and cool air washed over her folds and opening.

   She shuddered as he stood in front of her, removing his clothing and folding it to the side with deliberation.

   "You are mine first, then your parents' daughter, then your being an elemental and shifter are part of your identity."

   Even trussed and vulnerable as she was, she fought that. "I am my own being first and foremost."

   "Fine, this will not be easy for you then." He leaned forward and pressed his mouth over her most sensitive flesh.

   Hours went by while he fed on her with his mouth, pressed into her with his cock and then he ceased her climb to orgasm with an icicle that he structure in front of her dazed eyes to look exactly like his flesh and blood member.

   The ice moving inside her set her body back to the starting position, but no matter how much she whined, pleaded and struggled, he would not let her go over unless she gave him the words he wanted.

   He was not going to get those words no matter how much her body wanted it.

   The light in the room was fading and the aches in her body told her that Tynir had been at his torture for hours. His arms and legs were shaking with fatigue, so for his benefit as well as hers, she spoke from a throat hoarse from screaming. "Tynir. Stop."

   "What? Are you willing to give me what I want?"

   She sighed. "I am mine first. I will always be mine first. Without that, the power that I hold would be out of my control."

   "So, where does that leave me?" Sweat dampened his hair, his ice blue eyes were intense and his erection shone softly in the fading light.

   "It is very difficult for me to just lie here and surrender. Just a moment." She heated the leather around her thighs and waist, snapping free of it as it dried to brittleness. She rolled to her abdomen when her legs were free and did the same to her arms.

   He was looking surprised again, but she knelt on the bed and kept her hand over his mouth. "I am drawn to you like no male before. I want to stay with you and learn the ways of your people, making a place for myself in this world. I cannot do that if you are the centre of my world. If I give you everything, there will be nothing left for me and my power will flow free. I am not a rock, I am not a tree, I am a living being with power and having self-control depends on my sense of self."

   A flicker of understanding ran through his gaze and he nodded.

   She kept going. "If you had to give control of your talent to me, would you?"

   Doubt flickered in his eyes.

   She smiled. "So, you see my dilemma. I tried to hold still for your sake, but your punishment was unjust and I was tired of it."

   Her body ached and she just wanted to sleep. "I will sleep in your bed, but if you want to hold me, you had better come to me with the understanding that I am a woman of power and I need that control to keep folks safe around me."

   Remorse ran across his features and she removed her hand. "I understand and apologise. I was surprised by your other form and reacted badly to your danger."

   "I understand that and it's why I didn't burn you to a cinder a few hours ago." Her smile was sweet and she peeled back the sheets, scooting under them with a sigh of relief.

   "That won't do. Come with me." He gestured for her to come with him to the bathroom.

   Tynir had a warm tub full of suds ready when she hobbled her way into the bathroom. He got in before her and held her hand to guide her into the tub. "I kept you in that position too long. Come, I will make it better."

   She sat with her back against his chest in the foaming water. "This feels wonderful."

   "Just wait." He started to massage her, starting at her shoulders, working down her arms and even her fingers got a loosening rubdown. Once her arms were limp, he treated the rest of her muscles to the same treatment.

   Her hips tensed at his touch, but her thighs and buttocks enjoyed the ministrations of his strong, sure fingers.

   She dozed off with her body completely relaxed, the restrictions of the last few hours faded into a fuzzy memory overridden with her body's satisfaction.

   She heard a sluice of water and the cool air of the bathroom kissed her skin for a moment before she was swathed in towels and rubbed dry.

   Aches and pains had faded completely as he carried her back to the bedroom and tucked her between the sheets. His body curled around hers and he nestled against her as she let herself drift off into an exhausted sleep.

* * * *

Tynir woke to the most exquisite sensation. A hot, wet column was enveloping his cock and was slowly drawing back, sucking and then sliding forward again. He was trembling on the edge of coming when Fehniel stopped.

   She looked up at him with those midnight blue eyes and she slid up his body, positioning her wet opening over the head of his cock.

   He fisted his hands in the sheet as she slid onto him in minute increments. A groan came from his throat as his instincts told him to thrust deep. He fought his urges while she slowly lifted and dropped onto him, his cock squeezed by hot, wet flesh. She was so
tight.

   As she took up her rhythm, he briefly closed his eyes and kept his grip on the sheets before opening them again once his control had been established. His hips rose to meet hers and he couldn't take his eyes off the image she presented. Fehniel's breasts flexed and shivered with every motion, her nipples tight and making his mouth water.

   She alternated between cupping her breasts and running her fingers through the wealth of dark hair, lifting it off her neck as sweat trickled down to nestle between her breasts before trailing toward her navel.

   Her channel pulsed and tightened around him, her eyes opened as she gasped and made a high squeak while her climax rippled through her. Her rhythm faltered and it was all he could take. With a snarl, Tynir flipped her to her back and thrust into her hard and fast until he felt the tightening in his balls that preceded an orgasm that almost blew the top of his head off.

   He groaned and slumped over his lover, his chest heaving as he tried to regain his breath.

* * * *

Beneath him, Fen ran her hand through his hair. "Mari wants to blackmail Morgarn into surrendering his right to rule."

   "What?"

   "Her plan was to get Solial to force Morgarn to abdicate from the line of rule so that the bloodline wouldn't be contaminated with off-worlders. We should probably get to Thosnas's home soon."

   He looked at her in surprise with irritation in his gaze. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

   "We were working things out. I think we are in a fairly good place now. What about you?" She arched her hips into his with a wink.

   "Let's get going. Just a moment, I will take you to your rooms. Don't go without me." He added after a deep breath, "Please." He levered off her and slid from inside her.

   Fen noted with interest that he was either hard again or aroused again. Either one would work at another time. She sat up and blinked at the bizarre sensation of his semen sliding out of her.

   He was getting dressed, when he turned his back to her.

   Fen winced to see the claw and scorch marks she was responsible for. "Sorry about that."

   He pulled a shirt on and when he looked at her, he grinned. "I didn't mind at the time and I don't mind now." He sat next to her and tugged on his boots.

   She leaned over to give him a quick kiss. They had both caused pain and both accepted it. It was a bit much for a first week together, but their trial by fire was putting them on an equal footing without damaging their growing trust.

   When he was fully dressed, he stood and offered her a tunic.

"You can wear it back to your rooms."

   She pulled the fabric over her head, inhaling the smell of him as she went. It was on her body, in her hair and seeping from between her thighs. She used the tenting effect of the tunic to satisfy her wolf's urge to take in her mate's scent. He had a knowing look in his gaze when she pulled her head free of the neckline.

   She winked. "The wolf won that one. Now, where are we going?"