Seduced in Shadow (12 page)

As the glowing figures pranced to their music, Ellie had the almost overpowering urge to join them.

“Do they know we’re here?”

“Definitely.”

“Can I join them?”

He hesitated for a second. “I guess you can try.”

She stepped from the shadow of the trees and walked forward, smiling.

Antonin watched Ellie walk into the clearing, her careful steps taking her closer and closer to the
candelas
.

The creatures stopped, their tiny wings fluttering as they held their positions, staring at Ellie.

Since he’d only ever seen the creatures from a distance, he had no idea how they’d react to her. He’d never heard of
candelas
attacking so he figured she was safe from harm but he’d expected them to scatter the second she stepped forward.

Ellie walked right up to them and held out one hand, palm up, as if she was letting a dog sniff her. No one moved for several seconds and then one tiny glowing female 91

Stephanie Julian

flew to her palm and set down. Though he couldn’t see Ellie’s face, he could imagine her smile as the little
candelas
fluttered her wings and danced.

It only took moments for the others to follow suit.

Leaning against a tree, Antonin gazed at one of the most beautiful sights he’d ever seen. Ellie, surrounded by a hundred or so glowing
candelas
, dancing in the moonlight.

Even in denim and cotton, she was transcendent. Her long hair shone silver in the moonlight, shimmering around her shoulders and down her back. She smiled, laughed, her expression joyous. Her long legs skipped and hopped to the beat, her muscles flexing. Her breasts, unbound by a bra, bounced under his shirt.

And suddenly it wasn’t so innocent anymore. His cock throbbed and his balls tightened to the point of pain. His chest felt as if someone had dropped a twenty-pound weight on it.

The beat of the music became heavier, more sensual. His blood pulsed in time, straight to his cock.

He didn’t know how long he watched, his body tense with need. An hour or more must have passed, because the moon moved considerably in the sky. Ellie either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

She seemed lost in a world of her own until the
candelas
began pairing off and disappearing into the forest. It happened slowly but when only about a quarter remained, she turned to him. Even from where he stood, he saw the heat in her gaze, the tightness in her body.

She started moving toward him, her eyes wide, her mouth no longer smiling. Her hands fisted in the bottom of the t-shirt.

Christ, she was gorgeous. Then she pulled the t-shirt over her head and blew his mind.

Lust spilled into his blood like hot lava, incinerating any lingering thoughts, except the need to take what she offered. Following her cue, he took off his own shirt. Then he 92

Seduced in Shadow

pushed away from the tree, holding his feet in place by sheer force of will. He let her come to him.

She took another few steps, her fingers hooked in the waistband of her pants. His breath exited his lungs on a short gasp when they fell to the ground. She stepped out of them, naked, without missing a beat and walked straight into his outstretched arms.

Hands on her hips, he lifted her off her feet, his muscles barely straining. Dragging her up his body, he held her above him, her hair cascading down on either side of his face. Her hands clasped his cheeks and she settled her lips against his. Her tongue slipped between his teeth, silky hot. He could hold her like this forever if she continued kissing him like that.

Ellie had other ideas though. Her fingers slipped from his face to trail down his neck to his chest where she played with his nipples, pinching them, rubbing them with her thumbs. All the muscles in his body grew tense with sexual desire.

Antonin groaned and lowered her feet to the ground. He needed his hands free, needed to touch her as she did him. But when he’d lowered her, her fingers lowered as well—straight to his cargo pants. She had them open and down around his ankles in a flash. His boxers followed suit. His hands found her breasts, cupping their weight. Her skin felt like satin, soft as down, her nipples tight and puckered. He lowered his head, intending to take one nipple in his mouth, but before he could, she dropped to her knees, one hand encircling his cock, the other going between his legs to scratch lightly against his balls.

Oh fuck.
His head fell back against the tree hard enough to hurt but her mouth… Oh hell, her mouth took in the tip of his burning cock and sucked.

Fire raced from his shaft through his balls and straight up his spine, clearing his mind of anything that wasn’t Ellie. With one hand cupped around his sac and the other tight around his cock, she played her tongue around the head, drawing on him like a piece of candy. The suction tightened his balls further then one of her fingers slid back to his perineum.

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Antonin looked down just as she removed her hand from around his cock and took more of him into her mouth. Her teeth scraped lightly along the skin, making him groan again. She smiled around him and took him in deeper, all the while rubbing that finger between his ass cheeks.

Gods, he wasn’t going to last long. And honestly, he didn’t much care at the moment. As long as he could come.

When Ellie picked up the pace, Antonin ran his fingers through her hair then rubbed a handful of it against the skin low on his stomach. Lightning flashed behind his closed lids as she took him deep in her throat then let him slide back out until her lips held only the tip of his cock. Her tongue swiped at the tiny slit and the lightning shot up his spinal cord.

He heard himself pant out her name, warning her to slow down. In response, she ringed the base of his shaft with her fingers and squeezed then dragged her hand up to meet her mouth, which was on a downward path.

Shit. Too late to stop. Can’t hold back.

Antonin called out her name as he came, her tongue continuing to swirl around him until his cock stopped convulsing.

With the last shudder of his orgasm still freshly imprinted on his body, he whispered the translocation spell and willed them back to the cabin.

* * * * *

Her lips still wrapped around his cock, Ellie realized they were no longer in the forest.

She didn’t much care, not when Antonin’s gasps continued to fuel her own passion.

The
candelas
and their lusty dance had made her blood boil and when she’d turned back to look at Antonin, his expression had made her want to give him as much pleasure as he’d given her already. It had seemed right to be naked under the moon in front of him. So she’d shed her clothes and bent down to worship him.

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“Ellie?”

With one last lick, she let his cock slide from her mouth before she looked up, peripherally realizing they were back at the cabin.

“How did we get back here?” she asked, only vaguely interested in the answer, much more interested in what he planned to do next.

His smile made her sex clench. “Magic. Sex magic. Powerful stuff. On the couch, woman. Now.”

Whoa!
Was it wrong for her to be turned on by the command in his voice? It couldn’t be.

Ellie rolled from her knees onto her haunches but she hadn’t gotten far when Antonin put his hands under her arms and lifted her off her feet. At his strength, her limbs weakened and her stomach turned somersaults. When he dropped her softly on the couch only a few feet away, she already felt an orgasm begin beating between her legs.

Without shame, she leaned back onto the couch and spread her legs before him.

Now it was his turn to kneel and he dropped between her knees, using his shoulders to force them even farther apart. Putting his hands under her thighs, he draped her legs over his broad shoulders and leaned into her. His mouth found her sex in an instant.

The first kiss was light as a butterfly. The second made her want to slam her legs shut so he couldn’t get away…ever. His tongue shot out to lick the already weeping folds of her sex, to flick against her sensitized clit before he turned his head to press kisses along her inner thighs.

She reached for his head to pull his mouth back where she wanted it—on her pussy—but then she lost her train of thought the second her fingers brushed his silky hair. So soft, like—

Oh God.
His mouth opened over her sex again, sucking on her tender skin before raking his teeth across her clit. A fierce shiver flashed through her body and she called 95

Stephanie Julian

out his name in a plea. Antonin answered by sweeping his tongue on that bundle of nerves until the first signs of orgasm finally broke the tension in her body.

He held her on the brink of climax for several minutes, forcing her body to prolong the pleasure. Panting, her sheath clenching, she needed to come. She had to or she was going to splinter.

Finally, when she thought she couldn’t take any more of the sweet torture, the sensation shot straight to her womb then through her entire body. Ellie cried out, her body wilting into the sofa.

When she stopped shaking, Antonin pulled away. Spent, Ellie couldn’t even get her eyes to open far enough to see what he was doing. He lifted her in his arms and she snuggled up close, wrapped her arms around his neck and let herself drift off to sleep.

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Ellie woke up to whispering in her ear.

She couldn’t understand a word but she couldn’t ignore the tone either. Someone frantically wanted her attention.

With an effort, she opened her eyes and gasped before she realized what was before her.

The tiny female
candelas
glowed dimly, as if she didn’t want to disturb anyone else.

The only other person in the room was Antonin and he was still asleep, flat on his back.

He had been curled around her earlier but sometime later had wound up like this. Dead to the world.

The
candelas
had her little hands on her little hips and was tapping her foot as she flapped her wings to suspend herself in the air.

Obviously she wanted Ellie for something.

Ellie got out of bed, managing not to wake Antonin. Naked, she followed the little glow down the stairs from the loft to the ground floor.

She slipped on a shirt and panties from the overnight bag that was still lying where it had been dropped. The
candelas
flew to the window then looked back at her as if waiting for her to fly out with her.

“Not gonna happen, little girl. What do you want anyway?” Ellie whispered.

The
candelas
turned to say something in that alien language that sounded like one of those New Age songs that were supposed to relieve stress. Then the little creature pointed out the window.

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“You want me to go out there?” Ellie stepped up to the window and looked out. It was so dark she could barely see the trees. The moon must have set already. “Why do you want me to go out there?”

More song-language, more pointing at the window then more pointing at her.

“I really don’t understand what you’re say—”

A shadow moved in the forest, startling a gasp out of her. The
candelas
spoke again, her agitation evident by the tightness of her tone.

“Okay, so there’s something out there. I’d better get An—”

Then Ellie started screaming.

* * * * *

Antonin woke to the sound of Ellie screaming.

She wasn’t in the room so he flew out of bed and down the stairs, only to stare in shock at the front window, which was in thousands of pieces on the floor. Ellie was nowhere to be seen.

“Ellie! Ellie, are you here?”

Not a sound.

Okay, don’t panic. Just because you don’t see her doesn’t mean she’s not here.
He ran to the smashed window, wondering who the hell could have done that. No one was supposed to know they were here.

His eyes scanned the forest. He didn’t see anyone out there. He looked around the room. Maybe Ellie had fallen behind the couch and he couldn’t see her. He checked. No, not there. He searched the entire cabin. She wasn’t anywhere to be found, which meant she had to be outside.

Antonin stepped into the night air, realized he was naked and willed pants and sneakers into his hand. After pulling them on, he searched the grounds, calling for her.

The only answer he got was the complete absence of sound. Something had scared off 98

Seduced in Shadow

the forest dwellers… Something big if the size of the strange footprints in the mud was anything to go by. He sensed the presence of magic. Not
Mal
but definitely
Fata
.

Fear got a stranglehold around his chest.

Get a grip. She needs you. Figure something out.

He closed his eyes, shutting out the anxiety, and concentrated.

Then he took off at a run back to their bed.

* * * * *

Ellie felt the panic attack hit her in the chest like a battering ram. Her gaze darted about her new surroundings, taking in the stone walls all around, illuminated by one flaming torch hanging on the far end.

It was a cave, one that seemed to have no entrance.

She’d been taken out of the cabin by something huge and dark and foul-smelling.

After blowing out the window—at least she assumed it had blown out the window without managing to get a scratch on her—the thing had grabbed her and taken off through the woods. She’d been terrified but had managed to keep her eyes open as long as she could. Unfortunately she hadn’t been able to see much, because it was pitch-black. Everything looked the same to her. Trees and more trees. Then she thought they had actually taken flight, though she wasn’t entirely sure.

By that time, she’d had to close her eyes because she was becoming nauseous from the constant motion.

When she’d finally stopped moving, she’d found herself here—wherever here was.