Grizzly (10 page)

Eridor pushed from the wall in a fluid motion that resembled ripples in the water. His lazy swagger looked damned good on him. If she didn’t have Tethur...she swallowed hard as the tall, gold-plated elf hovered over her body. He smelled like cookies.

Damn.

Sorscha licked her lips and images of licking him from head to toe assaulted her. She felt herself cream between her legs and groaned, stepping back.

“Would you stop it?” she demanded. “Are you cruising for Tethur to rip you apart?”

His lips twitched at the corners and his eyes glittered with mischief.

“Last I checked, love, he left you all alone in a room. Even if you smell so finely of freshly fucked, and orgasmed, he hasn’t claimed you properly,” he cooed.

She felt the warm, soft brush of fingers against her neck. “No bite,” he whispered.

Her heart thudded in her chest, punching at her rib cage. His touch left a sizzle which tracked a path straight to her now painfully swollen clit.

His palm cupped her cheek and lifted her gaze to meet his. “No coming inside you?” He smirked. “Such the pity. You are so very yummy, little one.”

Feeling the well of arousal, the same thing that happened to her when she first met him was building inside her. She wanted to drop to her knees, bend over and part her pussy lips for him. She wanted his tongue, his cock, his body all over her...

She cried out and ripped from his hold. The sexy scene shattered in her mind and she shot him a deadly glare.

“You will not do that to me again, do you understand? He may not have claimed me or bit me, or come inside me, or whatever vulgar thing you want to make up to seduce me into fucking you. But let’s get one thing straight.” She walked to him, feeling the weight of her breasts and hips. The arousal had forced her to realize how feminine and vulnerable she really was. She pressed her finger into his firm chest. “I will not give in to you. He may not own me yet, but he will. And I him,” she promised.

Eridor’s brows furrowed. His gaze scanned over her face and body. He took in her hard nipples and the swollen breasts spilling out of the top of her dress as she panted with rage. Slowly, one side of his mouth quirked up.

“Very well. Come, little Mother Nature. You have much to learn, and I can teach it.” He walked off quickly.

Confusion and arousal made her brain feel like a big ball of mush. Realizing she wasn’t following, he stopped, spun on his feet and faced her.

“Unless I’m wrong, and very rarely am I wrong, I do believe Tethur realizing you have escaped is exactly what you would like. I also sense you would get no greater pleasure than shoving it in his face that he can’t─” He tapped his finger to his lips. “—cage you?”

A huge smile spread over her pout and she nodded quickly.

“Right, you slutty elf. Let’s get a move on.”

The ridiculously hot elf was right. She wanted nothing more than to rub her escape in Tethur’s face. She also would love nothing more than for him to spank her for escaping. Sorscha stumbled over her feet and tried to keep up with the elf’s long legs.

Damn, where had that come from?

Sorscha had no time for delay. Quickly following after the long-legged, hot elf, she wound through the castle, down the stairs. She tried to get a glimpse of each room as they sped past. A set of large double doors were wide open and she realized it was a library. The books seemed to travel up to the moon, the shelves lined in what looked like gold leaf. She wanted to stop so bad and look, but Eridor kept moving as if she wasn’t following after him, or would just blindly obey.

Well, he got that part right. She was blindly following him towards the back of the castle, and out to a huge balcony. Wide stairs led down to a sprawling lake out back. Sucking in a deep breath, he simply tossed a glance over his shoulder and winked before jogging down one set of stairs. Running to keep up, she followed him to the very edge of the lake. Images of ice skating in her youth, warm memories of her and her mother, consumed her.

Pain quickly followed.

They are dead.

Sorscha still hadn’t come to terms with that reality. She couldn’t, right now, allow herself the grieving process. Perhaps, once they were somewhere safe, without huge orcs and other beasties following after her, she could curl up in a ball and cry until no liquid was left in her body.

Even so, her vision blurred with tears. Her throat burned at struggling to hold back the tears and fresh pain.

She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and she turned her head to the side. Sorscha felt no arousal. Either he’d turned it off, or she was getting more immune to him by the second. Eridor must have noticed the confused furrow of her brow.

“You are becoming immune. Your fae blood had been dormant for so long, you were affected by me as if you were human, because for all manner of speaking you were when you first arrived,” he explained.

Sorscha still felt tense all over. The idea that she was something...other felt unnerving. Running her tongue over her lips, she stared out onto the frozen lake. The beauty of winter was displayed before her.

“Now, Sorscha,” he explained. “Step up to the edge of the lake. I’m glad you didn’t put shoes on. You will need to feel the earth beneath you.” She watched as Eridor took a few steps back. “Your powers are slowly growing. At this point you are not in control of them. The emotions you feel are driving your natural ability to control nature. You have the ground, all that is beneath your feet. You can power it, and charge through it to win great battles. You don’t have the air. That is another sister. Together you could create hurricanes to distract your victims.”

She turned to him, her head tilted to the side.

He simply smiled at her. “Melt the lake, Sorscha.”

Sorscha turned around and stared at the mass of solid ice. Her lips opened and shut, flapping like a fish out of water. Little sounds came free. Shaking her head, she looked at Eridor, who still sported that sardonic smirk.

“I, I can’t,” she stammered.

“Oh, but you can, my dear.” He stood tall and proud, his hands hidden behind his back, his legs shoulder width apart.

Like a warrior.

“Simply feel the earth. Allow your powers to travel through the ground beneath you. It needs to totally consume your being until it is more powerful than the emotions. Once you feel it, dig, dig as deep as you can. Lock on to the heat at the core of the earth.” He paused and winked. “And melt the lake.”

Taking a deep breath, she took a hesitant step forward. She already felt a hum under her toes. The ground under her feet seemed to reach for her. Nature called for her demands. Stepping up on the frigid ice, she hissed at the contact. The hot burn of cold radiated through her body. Closing her eyes, she cleared her head. Sorscha honed all their power in one direction and locked onto it. So many things had happened to her in such a short amount of time, it felt like yanking brick walls down attempting to clear it all out.

As she relaxed, she heard the water under the frozen layer moving. The ripples seemed to kiss at her flesh. In her mind’s eye she saw the earth in layers; digging deeper, she went until she sucked in a harsh breath when she reached the magma-filled core. The heat lapped at her flesh and sang her a song of power and fire. Rage filled this part of the planet and she locked onto it and pulled. Zings of light flitted behind her eyelids, her arms reached and she felt the wind pick up around her. It whipped her hair against her face and yanked at the dress she wore. The tightly-woven sheets of ice that covered her body were pulled free. She hesitated a moment, realizing she would quickly become naked in front of this strange fuck-me elf man. Yet, that is not what happened. She felt something warm, smooth, and tight wind up her legs.

Opening her eyes slowly, she watched the center of the lake fall away. The crash of ice into the water made a small wave that spread out. Tingles and power coursed through her. The heat of the world vibrated and pulsed inside her as she watched the small lake melt away, leaving what looked like spring in its path. Her toes tickled and she giggled, smiling down at the warm waters lapping at her feet.

Biting down on her bottom lip, she sucked in a breath and nearly stumbled back as she realized she no longer wore the same clothes. No, the icy peek-a-boo number she’d once worn was replaced with pants that looked almost leather, in a green tone. A tight vest wrapped around her torso and breasts.

Sorscha lifted her brows and gazed down at her cleavage. Apparently, her subconscious liked her boobs a whole lot. The deep V of the vest she had on, clearly woven from elements of the earth, put her on display. Her large creamy mounds pressed together and pushed up.

She’d admit, she felt much more comfortable in this than the naughty little number Cassandra had woven for her. Her lips quirked up in the corners and she looked back at the freshly melted lake. It looked like spring come fresh—spring always had been her favorite, and now she knew why.

“All that hard work,” came Cassandra’s bell-like voice. “Now where will we ice skate?”

Sorscha spun around quickly and looked up at the woman. Realizing what she’d done, she shook her head.

“I’m, I’m, so sorry. You can turn it back, I was only practicing,” she stammered.

“Yes, Cassie, love. Don’t rain on her parade. She’s done quite well. Even changed that naughty little outfit you put on her.” Eridor paused and scanned over her body. “Pity, that.”

Cassandra came down the stairs. Her eyes were pinned to the elf, her lips in a tight line as she looked him over and breathed in deep. Slowly, a very playful smile spread across her lips.

“You realize she’s not your plaything, right? I see your scent no longer works,” she cooed.

Eridor looked down on the beautiful ice Queen. Her hips moved like liquid. Sorscha wished she could be that sexy. Something about Cassandra just was liquid grace.

“Pity that too,” he mumbled.

Sorscha, feeling slightly uncomfortable, turned from them both and started back up the stairs.

“I really wish everyone would stop talking about me as if I’m not in the same room as them,” she mumbled.

She stomped up each step, looking down and rolling over what she had just accomplished.

“Please, little one, do come back. I wanted to go swimming.”

She heard a very loud crack. Biting her lip, she knew Cassandra had slapped the man.

Distracted, not realizing where she was going, she slammed smack into a wall. No, too warm for a wall. Sorscha’s eyes scanned up the huge, broad chest until her eyes locked with a very pissed-off bear.

––––––––

T
ethur didn’t look like a bear now, although his eyes had that deep glowing hue to them. The heat of rage radiated off him.

“Do you have any fucking idea what I thought when I went to our room and saw not only the lock shattered, but you missing?” he snarled at her.

His voice and aggression was so fierce his hot breath fluttered her hair around her face. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she stormed around him.

“You can’t just lock me up like a doll, Tethur. You spent my whole life caging me, I realized today. No more. I have powers, I’m strong. I can do stuff on my own, you know,” she fired back.

“I can lock you anywhere I wish. That is my right as your guardian and mate,” he roared.

His huge arm locked around her upper arms and she was spun around. A squeal leaked from her lips as she was pinned against the wall. She heard the ice splinter.

A sharp whistle sounded, and she looked over at Cassandra just before Tethur’s large bicep blocked her path. He caged her in with both his huge, bulging arms. Arousal consumed her.

Hmm, who would have thought?

Sorscha’s chest rose and fell, her heartbeat kicked up a notch and she met his fierce, predatory gaze with her own look of defiance.

“Dear Goddess, thank you for gifting me with a horny elf and not a bear.” Cassandra tossed the couple a wink and disappeared back outside.

“No, wait...” Sorscha protested.

The deep rumble that came from Tethur’s chest drew her gaze back to him.

“You’re being unreasonable,” she whispered.

Tethur leaned in closer. His nose brushed against hers. The hair that covered his cheek and jaw brushed over the tender flesh of her cheek, and she shivered.

“Unreasonable? So that is what you call keeping you alive?” he rumbled.

“I call caging me unreasonable,” she whispered.

Turning her head to the side, feeling the hot breath spilling over her cheek, she squealed and ducked out from under him. Trying to run, she heard the roar and the sound of rending fabric, and froze.

He had shifted.

Sorscha’s eyelids fluttered shut and she braced for impact. Tethur was shockingly gentle with how, as a bear, he threw her over his shoulder and moved up the stairs with the grace of any animal in the wild. He dropped her to her feet at the foot of the bed. Before her eyes he shifted. His fur slid back into his skin, his muzzle melted into the handsome man she had known her whole life. Those glowing eyes gazed at her as if she were a feast laid out just for him. But it wasn’t just his face, oh no, she could see him all, including the huge club he called a cock standing proud and reaching to his belly button. Her mouth went dry and she fought to drag her eyes back up to his.

They were both breathing hard. They looked at one another, and Tethur’s steps ate up the space between them.

“Strip,” he growled.

She could feel her eyes go wide. Her words gone, lost, as he looked down at her, his gaze burning through her clothes. She took a step back and he matched it, keeping his bare chest pressed against her.

“No!” she said with much more fire than she felt.

“Yes, but you will,” he rumbled back at her.

The confidence in his voice shattered her independence. She would not give into him, she couldn’t. Tethur would understand that she was equal to him.

“Little bird,” he warned. “If you don’t do it, then I will, and I’m not in control.”

Sorscha shook her head, attempting to clear her thoughts. It was hard when every nerve ending responded to him. His voice, his scent, his breath, dear God, she was drawn to him like a moth to a flame and her body fucking burned for him.