Page 20 of A Siren of Beasts

“You can read my thoughts, is your touch unwelcome?” I inquired.

Feeling his silky skin along mine had my body humming with delight at the contact, almost as if it missed physical contact after having it nonstop for so long. Then again, never had I felt such comfort, innate trust, and something else I couldn’t quite explain, other than to say I felt grounded. A rumble came from Hisceas’s chest, it almost sounded like the crashing of waves as it flooded my body with bliss.

“You enjoy my touch immensely,” he rumbled, and I could feel his warm breath on my skin. “This is good to know, but something we should explore once you understand what could happen if I act on what your body desires. Until then, I suggest you seek that fulfillment from one of your two mates.”

Even as he spoke his hands and tentacles roamed my body scrubbing, massaging, and caressing. A fire built in my body that burned hot and I didn’t know how to put it out. It just kept building and growing, my breath came faster even as it became shallower. A soft moan slipped from my mouth as a tentacle wrapped around one of my breasts, while another tugged at my nipple. His hands were on my stomach but one drifted between my legs and with a press and swirl of his finger on my clit I exploded.

Power rocketed out of me as a shout of pleasure burst from my mouth.

This one wasn’t faked.

For the first time in my life— I’d experienced an actual orgasm.

ten

Out of the things I thought could happen, ending up with my teeth around the most intoxicating smelling woman wasn’t it. It was almost as if when her blood hit my tongue and the bond on my end snapped into place, it brought clarity along with it. There was no telling how long I’d been under the control of the madness. It seemed to creep up on you until you didn’t know who you were anymore.

I was a creature created from the molten hot core of the earth, then brought up to the surface with my packmates for the purpose of guarding the entrance to the underworld. The humans were the ones who started to call us hell-wolves or hellhounds, cursing our appearance since it typically signaled death. Our magic was fueled by the souls that returned to the earth when their days were done, creating a rivalry between us and the Todesrabe. They would steal the souls before they could be returned to where they’d been created from.

There had only been six of us created and I had no knowledge if any of them were still alive, or if I was the last. Even though my memory of before the madness took over was returning, there was a large chunk of time that was just blank. It made me uneasy not knowing what happened during that time, but that wasn’t my top concern. Right now, my one and only focus was on the woman standing in the shallows being washed by the hands of one of the most feared monsters in our world.

Other than the queen herself, no one would have had the power to survive a fight with him. The raven and I talked a bold game, but both of us knew there was nothing we could do to stop him from carrying my mate off the way he had. Watching as the guardian’s hands roamed over my mate’s skin, pulling the most erotic sounds out of her, had my cock stiffening and starting to peek out of its sheath. A growl rumbled in my chest as I could smell her arousal and the rage that it wasn’t at my hands. The only thing that gave me some comfort was that the raven standing next to me was just as furious about it as I was.

When she shattered in the guardian’s hold a shockwave of power burst from her. The headiness of it hit me like a punch to the gut. Instantly, the low magic reserves I had from not feeding on the underworld energy for so long were gone. I felt more rejuvenated than I’d ever been before. Any lingering wounds from my altercation with the raven were erased leaving me in perfect condition.

“What the hell?” the raven muttered. “Does that fucking guardian know what he’s just done?”

The snarl in his tone told me that whatever it was, wasn’t good. I was loathe to ask but it was the only way I would figure out what the hell was going on.

“Do you know what just happened?” I asked mockingly. “Has it been that long since you’ve seen a woman come to completion, or is it more that you’ve never managed to do that?”

He hissed, his taloned hand lashing out and I almost didn’t get out of the way fast enough. Fuck he was fast. I think he was even faster than just a few minutes ago. Could it be that whatever she’d done for me with that slap of power, she did for him as well? I froze at that thought as icy fear trickled through my veins. Did that mean the fucking raven was her mate, too? I’d heard of some monsters that could share their power with mates, or strengthen them if need be. Looking back at the Hollowed Forest I wondered if there might be more of us somewhere in the acres of land it covered.

“The guardian just announced her presence to all that dwell within the Hollowed Forest and beyond. That power burst might as well have been a signal flare, now we’re going to have an even harder time keeping her safe,” the raven grumbled.

I shifted to look away from my mate as the guardian helped her wash her hair. It was too much torture to see her sensual body and know I couldn’t touch it like he was. In time we’d get there, but she didn’t even know my name yet, nor I hers. I was centuries old and survived this long on my own, taking some time for her to wrap her head around being mine was something I could give her.

“Tell me, did that power blast just give you a boost?” I asked, flexing my hand, watching a ball of flame appear in it with hardly any effort.

The raven’s beady red eyes looked me up and down as the talons on his feet dug into the ground. The only sign that he was more upset than he was showing.

“No, that can’t happen. Shiny is my mate, fate led her to me and I saved her, brought her to my nest and I plan on fucking keeping her,” he bit out, his anger lashing out at me as power crackled around him. “You fucking bit her, scarred her beautiful skin, and now you say it’s your claim on her as a mate. I. Don’t. Fucking. Care. Shiny is mine.”

I lifted my hands in surrender and as a way to ward him off. “Trust me, birdman, I feel the same way about you. That mark on her neck is my claim on her, plain and simple. The whole world can now see she has a mate and back the fuck off. Do I regret how that happened? Hell, yes. Doesn’t change the fact that if you’re not going to let her go then you’re gonna have to kill me or learn to deal with me being around.”

“Remind me why I can’t rip out your soul and feed Shiny your heart as a display of my undying love for her?” he asked in a low, dangerous voice. “Because that sounds like a wonderful plan to me.”

Baring my teeth, I snapped at him, “That would fucking hurt her, you featherbrain. Even if there is half a mate bond it would still cripple her if I died. Go right ahead though, it would ensure you never make her happy, even after I’m dead. That I could be at peace with.”

“So, do I have any say in the matter or do I just have to live with whatever choices you both make for my life?” my mate asked.

Her voice made me shiver with delight. It had this musical quality to it, but it wasn’t light and lyrical. No this was slightly deeper, with just a hint of a husky rasp that gave it richness. I wanted to listen to her talk but above that, I wanted to bury my nose in the crook of her neck and breathe in her scent. Now that the blood was washed off I got a better sense of her smell. It was seductive, like a lotus on the night air with a luscious spice of amber and heady musk that had me wanting to roll in it so it would never leave me.

Shifting, I faced her and realized I was a fair bit taller than her, making it so I had to look down. “You always have a say, my mate,” I answered, holding myself back from reaching out and tracing the water that dripped from her naked body.

The regal way she stood there not giving a fuck that she was naked and vulnerable to the world at this moment, had my mouth watering. It was enticing to see how comfortable she was in her own body. The feel of her silver gaze as it washed over me had me standing at attention and praying to the gods my cock wasn’t making itself known. In no way did I want her to feel that I wasn’t going to respect her or her body, a mate was an equal in all ways.

“Glad to hear it…” she said, but let the sentence drift off as if she was waiting for me to say something.