My claws and fangs had already descended, but my goal wasn’t to kill the creature. It was to persuade him with my magick to do my bidding. I’d never used it in this way. The last time I’d tried with the dryad stag, I’d failed. I had to test my strength of power over this grimlock.
“That is not my purpose here,” I finally answered, “to give myself to you.” I slid my hands up my thighs and along my hips, dragging his heated gaze to the movement.
He grunted, stroking his cock harder. “But you will.”
“I might,” I said coquettishly, combing my fingers through my unbound hair and covering my breasts in the appearance of being shy.
He frowned, sucking air between his serrated teeth, walking closer, still holding his cock firmly, idly stroking.
“You will, skald fae princess. Or I will make you.”
He was nearly upon me already.
“Stop!” I shouted, thrusting my arm forward, palm out. He was so close, I could feel the heat of his chest against my palm.
But he had stopped, confusion contorting his expression. He wasn’t sure why he’d obeyed. He didn’t need to know. It was a type of magick he didn’t understand.
Suddenly, I noticed several other pairs of red eyes appearing from around the trunks of the trees farther away from the giant oak. A chittering noise, a flap of wings. The other grimlocks were venturing into the clearing, very slowly.
I had to move quickly.
“Iwillgive myself to you,” I cooed, flicking my hair over my right shoulder so that he could gawk at my breast, the pattern of markings rounding the top in an elegant swirl. “But only after you give me a gift first.”
“Tellme,” he growled, his body trembling with obvious lust and frustration. “Tell menow.”
I didn’t hesitate.
“That tree holds a secret.” I pointed over his shoulder. “I want to see what’s hidden inside.” My voice vibrated with power, whirling in the air like a whipping chain.
“Why?” he snapped harshly, even while he was panting, slowly stroking his cock which had swollen even bigger.
The chittering and sibilant whisper of his brothers speaking to each other grew louder as they appeared out of the shadows, mesmerized by the scene.
“I love secrets,” I whispered, injecting my magick into my voice with more force, holding his eerie gaze.
My voice echoed through the boughs of the ancient tree.
Secrets, secrets, secrets.
There was a sudden pulse of vibration coming from the tree itself rather than me, as if he were responding with his own power, trying to join me in this fight.
The other grimlocks squealed, certainly feeling the vibration of my magick, keeping themselves at a distance.
My power hummed hotter than ever before, amplifying me with confidence. I’d never felt this level of magick blazing through my limbs, through my flesh down to my bones. An eerie wind blew through the clearing, lifting locks of my hair in the electric air.
“Show me your secret, Selestos,” I whispered, my voice nothing but sex and seduction, “then I will lower to my hands and knees and let you mount me.” I tilted my head to the other side, my hair cascading away to reveal my other breast. “That is what you want, isn’t it?”
He blinked, bewildered, panting in frustration. “I can have you now,” he snarled, but his voice was filled with uncertainty. “I am my father’s son. I cantakewhat I want.”
“No, Selestos. You cannot. I am a special treasure. You cannot breach my magick. Why don’t you try?”
I swore I heard movement in the woods beyond the clearing and the grimlocks squatting on or peeking from the perimeter of trees. My clansmen. But I didn’t look, keeping my focus on Selestos.
He let go of his cock, which stood obscenely erect, as he thrust out his arms toward me, freezing with his hands halfway to my throat. I summoned from the well where my magick sprung, pulsing out a white light that vibrated from my body.
He grunted in distress, taking a step back, his hands shaking, still frozen in midair.
“You cannot take from me what I will not give.” I slid my hands up over my hips and waist, over my breasts and down my belly. “If you want me, you must give me the gift I ask for.”
