Chapter Twelve
The sun was high in the sky as I smelled the scent of humans a few miles ahead. My pegasus recoiled, pinning back my ears and slowing my pace. I didn’t handle the scent any better than my beast, and fought against the instinct to turn and gallop in the opposite direction.
Pegasus weren’t known for associating with other species on our best days, and nothing in the last couple of hundred years in this world had made me want to change that. I knew my species had their faults, but we also had a strict moral code.
Humans were willing to do anything to get what they wanted.
I was the last of my species. Our ability to roam had been restricted, thanks to the hunters who saw us as trophies, or a status symbol for their estate. Those who hadn’t been killed in a hunt had their souls die because of being confined to ever smaller areas of land out of reach of most humans.
We were not meant to be tamed, and when we were finally broken, both our souls and bodies died.
Now I was heading toward a human dwelling, and everything inside me screamed I should turn around.
But I didn’t because of my mate, who trusted me enough to lie on my back and fall asleep. I was careful to keep my wings pressed tight on either side of her body so she wouldn’t roll off.
It was strange having weight on my back as I’d never been ridden. Even in my drugged state, I’d killed all five men who’d tried to break me during my captivity. And their deaths had been violent, bloody deaths that had earned me weeks of torture.
I was over five hundred years old, and I’d never heard of a pegasus accepting a rider. Then again, I’d never heard of a pegasus coming down off their high horse and taking a mate of another species. Which was likely another reason my species had vanished from existence.
I’d always considered myself unlucky because I was too stubborn to just give up and die like the rest of my brothers and sisters. How wrong I’d been. Getting to meet my mate was worth everything I’d survived.
I wouldn’t have cared what she was—gryphon, shifter, wizard, human—I would have loved her the same. Well, maybe not unicorns. Those uptight pricks had sticks shoved so far up their butts, they stuck out of their foreheads.
But being matched with a phoenix was the last thing I’d expected. Especially since I thought we’d made the critically endangered species list around the same time.
I’d heard the chatter among my captors about the unstoppable tiny phoenix who was basically like a ninja, but with unconventional battle techniques. Personally, I’d thought they were exaggerating. But after seeing the power Iolani had displayed when she’d destroyed every man on the cliff without breaking a sweat, I understood their fear.
Over the past few days, I’d had plenty of time to study and learn about my mate. Should I have told her I could read the minds of most paranormal creatures? Probably.
But after years spent in my pegasus form, I’d become better at gathering information by observing and listening. Humans lacked magic, making it difficult to use my magic to listen to their thoughts. I could gather bits and pieces if I focused hard enough, but it was often garbled and made little sense.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to my mate’s rambling thoughts. She was incredibly sensitive and tender-hearted for a being of her power.
Her mind was filled with thoughts about Cucalas, her kingdom, her love for lumberjack-looking decor, her battle with Azurea, and her worries for the upcoming challenges. She feared nothing except failing those who counted on her.
Secretly, I’d loved her thoughts about me. And yeah, I was that vain. She spent a lot of time admiring both my human and pegasus forms. There had been an unforeseen downside to my ability to read her mind, though. When her mind turned to replaying our kisses and reliving what she’d felt when she’d been squished between August and me, my body couldn’t help but respond. I’d never spent so many hours rock hard.
By the time she confided what she was, I’d already known. She’d thought my shock when I’d found her in the woods had been from watching her die and rebirth, and while I had to admit that was one lit party trick, it hadn’t been the reason for my surprise.
That had come from the unfamiliar magic I’d picked up in the air. It was a magic I hadn’t sensed before, so I knew it was hers or August’s. I’d tasted it in the air more than once on this trip, and I was beginning to wonder if Iolani’s freakish brushes with death weren’t accidents. But I wasn’t going to add to her worry until I was sure.
While pegasus sucked at sharing, I found myself wishing August would hurry up and accept the claim so I could confide my suspicions. I wouldn’t betray Iolani’s trust by revealing her secrets unless it became a life and death situation. But I would’ve felt better if he’d been aware of the situation so he could be prepared for any attacks.
Where Iolani’s mind was painted in color and filled with beauty, August’s was hostile and monochrome. Or at least that’s how it had been before Iolani. With each hour he spent in her company, I was seeing his mind’s stark landscape shift to a drab wash of color.
He was seeing and feeling the world differently because of her… and his butthole was puckering in terror. Which was a problem, since the man had never experienced fear and was doing his best to distance himself from it.
That first night we’d slept with Iolani between us, I’d wanted him gone. But Iolani’s thoughts keyed me into the fact he was her unclaimed mate. When I realized he’d walked away from her, I’d given serious thought to killing him for hurting her heart. Then her thoughts had shown me how he’d been there for her and my desire to have my mate happy and safe outweighed my desire to kill him… which was saying a lot, because I really wanted to kill him.
Sharing a female wasn’t a pegasus trait. We tended to kill any rivals for our mate’s attention; it was simpler that way.
My opinions changed when I realized how turned on she’d been by having August involved during intimacy. Anything that added to her pleasure was something I wanted.
Which was why, when I’d sensed August moving through the woods, I’d made sure to angle her so that she faced him. And as expected, when she’d spotted him watching us, her lust had spiked.
Intimacy with the pair of us increased her pleasure to a level we wouldn’t be able to achieve separately.
So until the winged pussycat stopped being a flying chicken, I was going to take every chance to show him what he was missing. I enjoyed goading him, and I adored pleasuring her… so it was a win-win situation for me. Because the sooner he came to the realization that he could never walk away from her, the sooner we could start showing our beautiful mate a whole new world of pleasure.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear…
“The lodge is just past that line of trees.” August trotted up next to me. “How do you want to handle this? Do you want me to take her and give you time to shift and come up when you’re ready? I can also open a balcony door for you and you could come in under the cover of darkness.”
He might not read minds, but he’d picked up on my discomfort and was trying to make this less stressful for me. It was disgustingly sensitive for a man who thought he was too cold to love.
Coming to a stop, I tossed my head toward my back.
August understood. Pulling his horse to a stop, he dismounted and gathered Iolani into his arms. His arms bumped my wing, and he stiffened. He turned wide eyes on me, waiting for me to retaliate.
I snorted.
He belonged to Iolani, so he was safe. But I wasn’t about to tell him that. I hated people feeling comfortable enough to talk to me… the last thing I needed was for them to feel comfortable touching me.
As August stepped away, I flicked out my wing, whacking him in the back of the head. He grunted, whipping his head around to glare at me. But I had both my wings tucked tight against my back, and I widened my eyes in feigned innocence.
“You, my friend, should’ve been swallowed,” he hissed, walking away like he’d had the last word.
Yeah? And I bet your baby toe gets banged more than you do.
August spun on his heel to face me. His eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out if he’d imagined my voice in his head, or if his imaginary friend had developed a sense of humor.
I blinked, acting as though I couldn’t hear the delightful string of curses running through his mind.
Color me impressed!Who knew he was so creative? I struggled not to laugh, knowing it would confirm his suspicions and ruin my future fun.
“My mistake. I thought I was dealing with an adult,” he mumbled, turning toward the lodge and striding away.
Poor, na?ve man.
August had done the worst possible thing you could when interacting with a pegasus…
He’d amused me.
And I was going to take advantage of every opportunity to push his buttons.
Several hours had passedby the time I slipped on the clothes August had left, and strode from the woods. I might’ve stayed hidden until dark if not for spotting Iolani reclining in a chair in the courtyard.
She was holding the notebook she’d taken from my captors’ camp, and once again, I kicked myself for not burning the book when I had the chance.
The last thing I wanted was for my mate to read what I’d been put through or about their plans to create a breeding program with me as the stud. They believed I’d jump at the chance for sex and female companionship, but I’d refused to shift to my human form and had ignored the captive female paranormals and eager human volunteers they’d shoved into my pen.
Recently, they’d concluded I lacked a human form, and had shoved female horses in heat into my tiny electrified cage, hoping my biological needs would win and I’d mount them like the animal they thought I was.
When that had failed, their conversations had turned to finding a way to collect my semen. The only reason it hadn’t happened was because no one had been brave enough to jack off the beast who killed every man who’d touched him. Sure, sometimes I had to wait until the drugs wore off a bit, but they’d all died.
I hadn’t touched any of the females, but I worried my mate would feel disgust—or worse, pity—for me when she read those entries. Her sensitive heart was determined to locate the other captives mentioned and ensure they were safe, and that alone kept me from making the book disappear.
My eyes searched the lodge grounds that were visible from my hiding place, looking for threats to Iolani’s safety. But other than the two humans working to get all the new horses groomed and settled in the barn, the lodge was nearly desolate.
A guy had checked in shortly after we arrived, and a woman had joined Iolani on the patio area. The two had exchanged greetings, and then the woman had opened a novel and started reading. Every few minutes, the woman would burst into laughter, then quickly read the line out loud, and their giggles would echo across the valley below.
The sound was irresistible and drew me forward.
Iolani sensed me coming, and a beautiful smile spread across her flushed face. “Jazriel! There you are!”
Sitting down on the lounge beside her, I forced her to scoot and give me room.
“There were other chairs.” My mate giggled, and I found myself entranced by this version of her.
Now that she’d been fed, slept for hours, and had the energy from our bonding surging through her, she practically glowed.
Why hadn’t I realized how drained she’d been sooner? Because she was as stubborn as August and good at hiding any signs of weakness.
“I prefer this seat.” Tucking my arm around her shoulder, I pulled her close and kissed the top of her forehead.
Iolani rolled her eyes, but her body leaned into mine and she sighed happily. “Belle, this is my?—”
Noticing her panic as she tried to find the word, I jumped in. “I’m her fiance, Jazriel.”
I knew I should offer to shake hands, but it was a human custom I would need time to adjust to. While I might learn that you couldn’t kill someone over a handshake, my inner beast was going to take a while to convince.
Belle didn’t seem bothered by the lack of a handshake. “Iolani mentioned her boyfriend, but didn’t tell me she was engaged!”
Sliding her glasses down her nose, her eyes flicked down my body, lingering for a moment at the low V of my shirt where part of the phoenix was visible.
I laughed. “She’s a bit shy about it because she proposed to me.”
“Way to go after what you want! I’m here for it.” She winked at Iolani, then looked back at me and explained, “Iolani and I have been laughing over some of the cliche descriptions of the sexy men in this book, and she claimed you fit those descriptions. It turns out she wasn’t lying.”
Iolani blushed, and I fought the urge to strut. Pegasus had legendary egos, and having my mate stroke mine was an incredible high.
“I’m just lucky she gave me a second look.” Lifting Iolani’s hand to my lips, I placed a soft kiss on the back.
“It’s clear you two were meant to be together.” Belle smiled and tucked her book into an oversized tote at her side. “I’m going to my room and pretend one of my book boyfriends is real and curse the universe for not giving me a sexy hunk.”
“I hope we bump into each other again, Lani! It’s been forever since I had the chance for some girl talk.” Standing, she wiggled her fingers in a small wave and headed inside the lodge.
“She seems so nice. It was like bumping into an old friend.” Iolani turned and smiled up at me. “But I’m glad it’s just us now. I missed you.”
Her thoughts slid through my mind, images of how she wanted to straddle me, grab my face between her hands, and kiss me. How she wanted to feel me inside her, filling her as she rode me as if she’d stolen me and needed to make a hard and fast getaway.
I was getting hard just from her thoughts, but she simply tucked her head against my chest. It was cruel, even if it was my own fault for eavesdropping.
Pulling her onto my lap, I caught her face in my hands and kissed her like it was the first time. When I released her, she was panting, and she had the sexiest bedroom eyes I’d ever seen.
She adjusted herself on my lap, inadvertently grinding against my painfully hard erection. “How much time before you expect the solar storm to reach its climax?”
The only word I heard was climax.
“Wh…what?” I asked, my heart tripping as she leaned forward to wrap her arms around my neck, which had her soft breasts so close to my face I could nearly lick them.
Since we’d met, I’d only seen her wear the oversized men’s clothing, or my favorite—nothing at all. The tank top she was wearing fit her like it was painted on, and her breasts looked ready to spill over the top at any moment. It was tempting me in ways I hadn’t experienced.
I wanted to rip her top down and mark her breasts with kisses and gentle bites. Just like I wanted to unzip my jeans, reach beneath her flowy skirt, push aside the strip of fabric between her thighs, and bury myself in paradise.
Temptation was an invitation I never refused, but I didn’t want my beautiful mate to think I was an animal who couldn’t control himself, so I did my best to focus on what she was asking.
“How long before I need to be ready to work on the veil?” she repeated, while the fingers of her right hand brushed idly through my hair.
“Two nights from tonight,” I answered, trying to breathe through my mouth so I wouldn’t smell the sweet scent of her arousal.
My inner pegasus would see that as a sign of our mate having needs we were neglecting, and I’d end up taking her right there on the patio, not caring who might happen to wander by.
“So soon,” she whispered, leaning forward and tucking her face in the crook of my neck.
Her warm breath on my neck, combined with the fingers running through my hair, and her other hand trailing down my chest, had me swallowing a growl. She was killing me.
I’d hated being touched, and now I couldn’t get enough of being petted, and was two seconds away from begging for belly rubs like a pathetic dog.
Oh, how the mighty had fallen.
“Do we need to travel somewhere special where you can reach the veil?” I asked, my voice husky.
She shook her head. “I can touch the veil wherever I am on this side. When it comes time to trap Azurea in Cucalas, I will need to return to the spot where we traveled between the worlds. The veil is weakest there, so it will be the easiest spot to open and send her back.”
“One thing at a time. First, we stabilize the veil. Then we’ll figure out how to handle Azurea.” I traced my fingers along her spine.
“Thank you for being here for me. It’s nice not being alone.” Iolani shifted positions so she could suck my bottom lip into her mouth.
I nearly exploded in my pants.
“We need to get you fed and back into bed,” I croaked, fighting every fiber of my being that told me I should selfishly take what I wanted.
“I’ve slept enough.” She laughed, then wiggled her hips playfully. “Besides, I’m comfy here.”
Well, that makes one of us,I thought, wanting her to stop moving but simultaneously wanting her to move more.
“The amount of power I will be funneling into you is going to take everything you have. I need you to focus on saving every bit of energy you have over the next two days.” Wrapping my arms around her, I held her to me, reassuring myself she was strong.
“If I go upstairs, will you cuddle me?” Her eyes held a naughty glint, but her thoughts were serene and sweet.
I would have agreed to anything this woman asked of me, so I nodded. “Only if I get to be the little spoon, though.”