A Walk After Dark Read online

  Anticipation wound tightly throughout her. Even these few light touches from him affected her more deeply than the caresses of any of her other lovers.

  He opened the simple belt holding up the heavy blue skirt. Belt and skirt fell away leaving her bare beneath the tails of her shirt.

  “I thirst, Miranda.” He looked from her face to her body.

  With a delicate touch, he roamed over the backs of her legs, between her thighs, and pulled her close. He nuzzled his face in her mound.

  Heat raced through her body, and that scent, the incredible scent of his beast, filled the air. The wet heat of his tongue parted her sex, blindly seeking, tasting, lapping. Her knees buckled, and she slumped over his body on a moan.

  He lowered her to the floor. “I thirst.”

  His mouth opened wide and fastened over her cunt in a sucking kiss that took all the moisture her body offered him and demanded more and more. His tongue thrust into her vagina stroking and demanding still more, and her body helplessly gave it. She shook and twisted in a torment of delight, her hands first pulling him closer and then seeking to push him away as it became too much.

  But he would not stop and growled when her hands tried to push him back. His beast must be in control of his mind. Again and again, he forced her body to give up its cream to his greedy lips, until lost to his scent and his intimate kiss, she only shook in a remorseless orgasm that wouldn’t let go.

  Heat. An intense wave of heat rolled from his body. She felt it from the tongue scorching her to his raspy cheeks burning her thighs. Finally, his mouth pulled away, and his head rose. For a moment, her heart clutched in fear, and the orgasm holding her stopped. The man was gone. She stared into the face of a combination of man and beast.

  Oh, gods. His midform ‑‑ fur covered most of his body leaving only his face and his genitals bare. He sat up on his knees, held her knees open and gazed hungrily at her, licking the last of her cream from his lips. He looked even larger than before, and oh, so hungry. His scent filled the air even stronger than before.

  “Don’t be afraid.” The deep, gravelly sound rumbled out of his chest, and he leaned over to cover her body and take her mouth in a kiss. With the taste of his mouth, fear left her, and the beast scent took over her mind. She burned now and bucked shamelessly against him. He growled a warning, then pulled his hips back to position himself ‑‑ then thrust.

  She felt every inch of his cock as he slid into her body. Stretching her wet passage with his solid heat, he filled her and then pushed even deeper, grinding his root against her cunt.

  He groaned, the sound of both agony and pleasure. “Gods, I need this. Wrap your legs around me and hold on. Let me feel you hold me, and take me as I take you.”

  Held tight, he fucked her, and her body shook with the force. She wound tighter and higher until she shattered in orgasm. Her cry filled the air.

  “Yes!” He shouted in triumph as he once again ground himself into her body, shooting the liquid heat of his release.

  He gripped the back of her neck with one hand and pulled her head up for a kiss still filled with voracious hunger. “Again, Miranda, again.” Her dazed brain had just realized the cock within her body was still rigidly engorged, holding her stretched open beneath him. He pulled back a little before pushing back in, setting all the recently satiated nerves singing once more.

  Again? She groaned in disbelief even as his gentle strokes had her pulling him close once more. “Oh.” Her voice broke as the sweet joy took her, her body arching into his.

  “Yes. Again.” His voice now more like a growl than words. His thrusts gained force. “Again.” Thrust. “Again.” His body moved with brutal rhythm until she was keening her pleasure again, until he roared out his own release, and they collapsed in a tangle by the fire.

  * * * * *

  He rolled to his side, keeping her close, willing to rest as long as she stayed within his hands. Her eyes shuttered closed, but her hands remained tangled in and tightly gripping the fur of his body.

  He smiled, pressing a kiss into her hair. She slept with the man-beast without fear. Remarkable! From the surprise in her eyes when the strength of the beast scent hit her, he would wager she had never taken one of his kind before. But she slept with him still in his half beast form, something even most experienced companions would refuse. Rising from the floor, he took her up with him with easy strength. He stepped over to the curtained alcove, which he rightly surmised hid a bed. Stretching out on the soft mattress was a welcome change from the cramped hard places he had napped while spying upon the ravers. He pulled a cover over his new treasure and himself. He would let them both rest awhile, but after almost three months of denial, his beast was far from done with her, and the beast must be fed.

  Chapter Two

  Three moons earlier

  It was a crisp morning with just a slight bite of the coming autumn. The gentle whirl of hummingbirds filled the air. Soon they would be gone south for the winter. Cassandra and her companions, Ty and Cyn, were loading up their carry packs. It seemed they had been at this rock-enclosed campsite for longer than just one night, but then so much had happened in just that one night.

  “Shoo,” a gruff voice sounded.

  Huh? She turned and had to clap a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. There stood Cyn, his emerald green eyes sparkling with annoyance. Cyn. The ruthless and manipulative Duke was being buzzed by hummingbirds! Apparently, the red in his auburn hair made them think he might have some nectar. If only they knew. She bit her lip to keep from laughing.

  Ty had no such compunction. “Ha, ha, ha! So your little friends have found you again?”

  His laugh. She had never heard such a beautiful, rich, sound. His amber eyes were crinkled with amusement in a face framed by a shining curtain of long ebony hair.

  The little birds buzzed Cyn a few more times before he successfully shooed them on. Cyn huffed and glared at Ty with an anger that would make most men quail. “Go on and laugh. Don’t you ever grow tired of that joke?”

  “Ummm, why no, I do not. I best explain to our chosen so she does not feel we are keeping secrets.” He leaned confidingly close to Cassandra. Ty’s smile is actually mischievous. This was a side of him she hadn’t yet seen!

  “You see, Cyn’s hair contains the deep red of some flowers, but even worse, when he is happy and relaxed a little of his beast scent escapes his pores. Our scents change somewhat with our moods. His “happy scent” takes on sweet overtones ‑‑ a little like honeysuckle. A human’s nose would not pick it up, but those tiny birds and insects notice. Sometimes, when he was younger, a small cloud of butterflies and bees would surround him until he grew annoyed.” Ty bent over in helpless peals of laughter again before sputtering out, “It’s hard to look intimidating when you’re surrounded by butterflies and chased by hummingbirds.”

  As brethren, both Ty and Cyn carried a beast within them and could fully change to a wolf form or a man-beast form with a partially furred body, bluntly clawed hands and feet, and a fanged mouth. She had saved Ty’s sanity when he went through his first change after being attacked by a raver, a shape shifter whose mind had snapped, unable to handle having an inner beast. Later, he and Cyn had saved her life by giving her their blood, but their shifter blood had done more than save her life; it had created a bond among the three of them.

  Cyn narrowed his eyes and stalked over to Ty and Cassandra with all the grace of his inner wolf. He placed one hand under Ty’s chin and pulled him up to meet his menacing gaze. “You know, that little remembrance will cost you later, my Bond Brother. I’ll enjoy discussing” ‑‑ his hand ran down Ty’s torso to cup him intimately ‑‑ “your selection of memories for our chosen later.” The laughter disappeared from Ty’s face, heat filled his eyes, and a choked moan slipped from his lips.

  “Perhaps you would like to share a memory about me to make up for it?” Ty offered, but Cyn didn’t relinquish his hold on Ty. Instead, he thoughtfully tilted his
head as if in consideration while stroking his chin with one hand and stroking Ty with the other.

  “Hmm, that is an excellent idea. I shall think on it. Perhaps you will offer some suggestions while I…extract satisfaction for your impudence, later.” With this last comment, he released Ty, who had begun to thrust his hips in time with Cyn’s teasing strokes.

  “Cassandra, dear, you need to close your mouth. You’re gawking.” He smirked and went to complete his packing.

  Ty watched Cyn glide away with a look that combined suffering and longing. Cassandra felt sympathy as she struggled with the hot, achy feelings just watching them gave her. Later. Patience now. I’ll have them both later. It was going to be a long day.

  She started thinking of the trip ahead. First they would spend time with some of the brethren. Normally, all who survived the change joined the brethren clans and learned how to handle this new part of themselves from the older members. Cyn was born with an inner beast and could give Ty all the help he needed. But, as a high-ranking noble, Cyn kept his own inner beast a secret. The population would be alarmed if they thought a brethren had that much power. After spending some time with the brethren, they would return to Cyn’s home, the seat of power for his dukedom.

  Hmm, I wonder what sort of trade I can set up from Cyn’s keep. Just because she was going to be stuck in one place for a while was no reason to let her medicine and medicinal plant trade suffer. The bond the three of them shared was new and would require she stay close to one of her men for the moment, although Cyn told her the time they could be apart would gradually increase.

  Her rambling thoughts stopped when she noticed both Ty and Cyn had completely ceased packing. Their stillness was absolute, then Cyn smiled.

  “Darius, Raphael, and Markus are approaching.”

  Cassandra relaxed and smiled as well. She knew all three of them. They were brethren and must have come in answer to the message about the attack on Ty and his subsequent change. Darius and Markus strode through the rock entrance to the campsite. They were striking men. Sapphire-eyed and pale-skinned Darius with his tapestry of blond and brown waist-length hair would have been just too pretty except for the rough scar that ran down one side of his face and under his jaw. It was extremely unusual for one of the brethren to scar, but he never discussed how he came to have it. Darius scanned the campsite with his customary air of quiet intensity. Despite the masculine beauty of his chiseled features and golden brown hair, people tended to shy away from the olive green eyes that seemed to see too much.

  “Let’s see, long raven-wing black hair, honey gold skin, and amber eyes; it must be Cassie!” Darius threw open his arms, and Cassandra ran, launching herself onto him. He caught her with easy strength and held her close before becoming rigid as he buried his nose in her neck. Silently he handed her to Markus who scooped her to his arms and similarly sniffed her neck. Markus looked up to stare at Ty and Cyn with a set jaw while he clasped Cassandra more tightly to his chest.

  “Hey, what is the matter with you both? And where is Raphael?” Cassandra tried without success to squirm out of Markus’s arms.

  Cassandra noted with concern the low growl coming from Ty’s throat. His muscles were bunched like he was ready to attack, and although silent, Cyn did not look much better.

  A laughing voice broke the suddenly tense atmosphere, “Speak of the devils and …” Raphael dropped to the ground from the top of one of the surrounding tall rocks. “Why are you both looking at Ty and Cyn that way? Hand me my baby sister.”

  “You may act like the irritating older brother I never had, but for the last time, I’m not your sister!” Cassandra yelled both in irritation at Raphael’s teasing and relief at his interruption of Darius’s and Markus’s strange behavior. “And, you’ll note, my legs are perfectly fine.” She looked at Marcus’s too-serious face. “Please put me down!”

  Markus ignored Cassandra’s order and handed her off to Raphael. He sent a puzzled look toward Darius who just nodded at Cassandra, and then he too buried his face against her neck. When he raised his head, he was no longer laughing.

  “What was done to you, my little sister, in such a short time frame? You smell of two wolves. More than that, their scent is not just on you, but it is coming from your pores, as if their blood is in you like a chosen mate, but for two, not one.”

  He placed her feet on the ground by Darius, who put an arm around her and cuddled her near while Raphael joined Markus in staring at the other men with contained menace.

  Ty started to lunge toward the group. “They are trying to take Cassandra!” But Cyn caught his arm.

  “They consider her family. Do not attack. Let them talk with her first.” Cyn spoke calming words although his face was cold as stone, and his fingers dug into Ty’s arm with the force of his anger.

  Darius swung away, blocking Cassandra’s view of the men with his own body and whispered, “Cassandra, my dear one, did they force this on you? From the time we were lovers, your body will remember my scent. It is possible I could break the bonding to them, although you might finish by being bound to me. I would allow you freedom as Cyn or even Ty never would. I know I never explained why I left so abruptly after we escaped from being snowbound. I was afraid of binding you as they have, but I could not tell you. The secret of the scent addiction is only known to the brethren and their chosen. If I told you, I would have had to bind you to me.”

  Cassandra laid a hand gently on Darius’s cheek and stroked down his face. “In the first place, you brethren did not keep your secrets as well as you think. My hearing may not be as sharp as yours, but I overheard and observed enough to know about the addiction and why you almost ran from me when you could. That was why I was never angry with you and so remained so ‘amazingly trusting,’ as you put it, of the big, bad leader of the brethren.” Darius turned red to hear his words praising her turned back at him.

  “On this trip, I was wounded badly by a raver. They gave me their blood to save my life. Even if that had not happened, I wanted them, and they wanted me. I do not wish to give them up, and Cyn and Ty understand my need for freedom better than you might think. After our bonding grows, Cyn has already spoken of my being able to travel from them on trading journeys. I am pleased with them. There is no need to fight.”

  Darius stepped back, although his face was still full of doubts.

  Cassandra raised her voice so that all would know she spoke to everyone there, although with their sensitive beast hearing, she knew they had heard everything whispered just a moment before. “Listen well, everyone. I want you all to know that Ty and Cyn gave me the choice before they gave their blood to me to heal my wound. I took them. They did not force me to be their chosen; they are mine. So you three” ‑‑ she said, glaring at Darius, Raphael, and Markus ‑‑ “can stow your outraged attitudes. I wonder if any of you will show so much consideration when you find your mates.” She gave Darius a light squeeze on his arm, a quick hug to Markus, and playful slap on Raphael's back and then went back across the clearing to where Ty and Cyn stood, visibly barely holding themselves in check

  They crushed her between them, rubbing their faces on either side of hers. They are scent marking me again, she thought with amusement. If one of them starts to open his pants, I’m going to have to kill him.

  Ty growled in her ear, “You never said you had been the lover of the leader of the brethren. I will not give you up now, Cassandra.”

  She grabbed a handful of his hair and of Cyn’s and tugged sharply to get their attention. “Now it’s your turn to listen. I had a life before I met you, but I chose you. I let myself be bound to you. Darius and I were trapped in a cabin together by a snowstorm and an avalanche. The full-moon night came before we could get out, and yes, we were lovers for a short while, but it is not something either of us sought to continue. We are close, yes, but not frustrated lovers.” While the intensity faded from Ty and Cyn’s grip, she noted they still carefully kept her between them and did not take their e
yes off the other men.

  “My companion, why did you not mention how very close you are to the brethren’s leader?” Cyn’s silky voice slid over her skin. Unlike his normally warm tones when he spoke to her, his voice held a touch of ice. The instinctive fear it generated made her angry.

  “I had no way of knowing who would get our message, and initially, I had no reason to discuss all my connections with you!”

  “Ah,” his voice softened and regained some warmth. “Now all your ‘connections’ are mine as well. We’ll have to make time to discuss this, soon.”

  A shiver ran down her spine. Cyn was right. What affected one of them affected them all in the chosen bond, yet there was steel behind his words indicating a need greater than just a reasonable need to know.

  Darius’s eyes narrowed. “Your paranoid need to control is beyond belief, Cyn. Take care how you treat Cassandra. If she is unhappy with her decision, we will do whatever is necessary to break her free from you.”

  “Oh, how noble, Darius ‑‑” Cyn was interrupted when Cassandra slapped a hand over his mouth. “Stop before either of you says something unforgivable.” She glared at Darius, Markus, and Rafael, who all looked ready to jump her men. “I know this adjustment will take effort on all our parts. I know Cyn is not a trusting or relaxed personality.”

  Ty snorted.

  She rolled her eyes. “And Ty is demanding also.”

  Cyn’s lips quirked into a partial smile.

  “But I have chosen them, and you know, I will not let them or you or anyone else make my decisions for me.”

  Markus deep voice intoned, “Cassandra, you know you are well respected among the brethren, and we have respected your need for independence even though you could travel more safely with us. Cyn is different. While he does not intend you harm, it is both his nature and a requirement of his position to be very controlling of everything around him. Ty does not so openly show it, but his need to possess and control is very like Cyn’s. You may need them also, but this will not be an easy pair for you. You may come to me if you need to discuss anything.”