Lycan's Promise: Book 3 (2 page)

He moved down her chest to bury his face
between her peaked breasts, humming softly with each slow deep
breath. Sanda’s hands came to rest on the top of his head,
threading fingers through wavy locks. She smiled as he placed a
suckling kiss on the base of one breast, and then turned to do the
same to the other. By turns, he placed opposing marks on each side
of his chest working his way up to the aureoles, and then her erect
nipples.

The contact had Sanda sinking into the cool
river water up to her chest. She shivered as the water rushed over
one newly exposed nipple and the sharp, erotic sensation was
contrasted by the sudden heat of Beryx’s mouth on her other
breast.

He lingered there, occasionally nipping at
her skin to elicit a gasp or two. Sanda pulled on his hair to bring
Beryx up to her for a throat deep kiss. Their tongues and wet lips
swirled and danced, with the two of them stopping only to cling to
each other, dragging in a hurried breath before diving back into
the kiss again.

His manhood, hot with the rush of blood and
need, prodded her belly under the water. Sanda reached down to drag
her hand along his length. She smiled into his soft groan,
relentlessly continuing her assault on the smooth, hard flesh of
her mate.

“I don’t think I can remain standing if you
keep doing that,” He gasped, staring up at the rich blue autumn
sky.

Sanda pressed a kiss to the top of Beryx’s
chest. “That was part of the goal.”

She decided to take pity on Beryx as he sank
into the water with an exaggerated groan until it completely
covered him.

“Come on,” She released him, grabbed one of
his hands and urged him up to the river bank where they both
flopped onto the shoreline with water rushing past their legs.

Beryx cupped the side of her face and kissed
her slowly, teasingly with light bites that drove her mad, until
she had to push him away. Laughter in his eyes hinted that he knew
how much he’d gotten to her. Sanda narrowed her eyes, mock growling
as she pushed at his chest until he gave way beneath her. She
slip-slided across his wet body and straddled his chest.

She bent down to his ear. “You’re mine,” she
said.

His only answer was a breathy affirmative.
Sanda scooted up his chest, working her legs over each shoulder
until she straddled his head. His breath was a hot pulse of steam
against her inner thigh. Sanda leaned forward, pressing hands into
the firm earth. Beryx’s arms came up and wrapped around each thigh
to hold her in place against him.

“You smell like the rut,” he muttered into
her skin at the crevasse between thigh and pelvic bone. His words
brushing over curled dark hair.

“Now, Beryx, now.”

She pressed forward into that breath, seeking
out his mouth her swollen sex. He moved up burying his nose and
mouth in her wet flesh. His mouth nudged past her furred lips to
kiss the hot flesh within. A cool-warm tongue slid over delicate
folds of skin until it found the spot that made her hiss and pull
back slightly from overly intense feeling. The tongue disappeared
to be replaced with wet lips pressing a closed mouthed kiss against
her most sensitive of spots. She sighed resting fully against
Beryx’s mouth, confident that he wouldn’t hurt her.

The tongue reappeared, wet and soft, and
began to lap at the thin skin around the focal point of her
pleasure and her world. He started a slow, insistent rhythm of
licks around the hooded skin exactly the way she liked. The regular
slick friction was both maddening and delightful.

Sanda panted. She pressed against his face,
threading her hands through his hair to hold him close.

Beryx grunted, licking her eagerly and with
less control. Sanda didn’t care, she was close, so close and only
wanted the pliant, textured movement to continue all over her
insides. She ground against his face instinctively seeking
satiation of the coiling tension inside. Faster and more firmly he
pressed his tongue over her skin, holding her in place with strong
hands cupping her thighs. It became almost too much feeling to
handle. She was too close, but didn’t want to fight Beryx’s tight
grip on her legs to get away. She could only twist with a cry as
her body imploded repeatedly.

When she was unable to remain upright any
longer, Sanda fell forward onto her arms and hid her face in the
sand. Beryx finally relinquished his grip, sliding out from between
her thighs as she flopped completely onto the ground. He slapped
her lightly on the butt before standing. The sting of palm on skin
felt sharp and erotic so close to still over stimulated nerves.

Sanda groaned, blowing air out of her mouth.
She listened to him wander over to the river to wash his face.
Sanda grinned on hearing Beryx curse the cold river water.

She contemplated rolling over onto her belly
to get up to wash herself. It seemed like too much effort at the
moment. She still felt lazy and a little unsatisfied. The way Beryx
made her feel when he used his mouth on her was astonishing. Still,
something had been awakened insider her body. She wanted to feel
his full, pulsing length thrusting into her.

Beryx came out of the water, coming to stand
between her spread legs. She shivered as a rush of cool wind slid
over her skin. Sanda could feel Beryx’s eyes roving over her back
and bottom. He had the same notion as her.

Sanda pushed up from the slightly damp river
bank and looked over her shoulder at her mate. He stared down at
her through lowered eyes. His erection was back despite the
coldness of the water. She shifted her legs wider, perking her
bottom up in invitation.

Beryx dropped to the ground, crawling over
her, covering her body completely under his own. He nuzzled her
ear, while a hand ghosted over her underarm and left side. Then he
stopped, smiling against the area under her ear.

“I have an idea,” he whispered into her
skin.

Sanda shivered again, pressing against him
for warmth. She hummed in response with mild curiosity.

“Let’s go for a run.”

“What?” Sanda asked when she fully wrapped
her mind around his words. Running was the last thing she wanted to
do.

“There is a place near the top of the
mountain. You can only get to it in wolven form. Let me show it to
you,” Beryx said, pressing a kiss to that soft spot under her ear
as punctuation.

Sanda blinked. She ran over his words in her
mind again to be sure of what he was saying. Beryx expected her to
transform into Lycan form. At the drop of a hat. Without any
warning.

“I don’t know,” she said.

“You can see the stars,” he murmured,
soothing a hand over her skin. “We’ll mate there, and watch the sun
set.”

“We can do that here,” she teased, shifting
onto her back to face him and get a small amount a space between
them she placed her palms against his firm, golden haired
chest.

“Lazy,” he grumped, “Come on.” Beryx grabbed
her wrists to pull her up.

“Really, I don’t.”

“Come on,” he repeated, tugging a little
harder on her hands.

“No.” Sanda shook free from him. He let go of
her easily, but the word range out harshly in the isolated
riverbank. Confusion crossed his face, he looked at her with
furrowed brows. Sanda scrambled up, gathering up her clothes,
feeling overly exposed. She’d never said no to him before, had
never felt the need too. Suddenly, it was out in the open. Their
relationship forever altered in some small, uncomfortable way. She
found her dress and hurried to pull it on. 

“Why not go up to the mountain?”

“I don’t,” she sighed, “I don’t feel like it.
It’s too cold.” She pulled on her cloak and wrapped it tightly
around herself as proof. Beryx was still naked. His erection gone.
His arms crossed at his chest. He didn’t believe her.

“I’ll be back at the cottage,” she said,
trying to slip by him. Beryx touched her arm to stop her at his
side.

“You haven’t changed,” he said, “Not since
that first time.”

“Don’t,” she said. Hoping he’d get the
message. Don’t push me about this right now. Don’t make me think
about that creature inside me.

“It can be wonderful, Love.” He stroked her
cheek with a finger, invoking a rarely used diminutive.

She caught his hand, pressing it against her
mouth. Helpless emotion swelled inside her chest. Thinking about
her actions as the wolf, what she did and the damage she caused
made her feel out of control.

“I can’t. Not now,” she whispered. Sanda let
go of his hand and hurried down the riverbank into the woods before
Beryx tried to call her back.

The woods enveloped her and Sanda was soon
far from the riverbank. Its rushing waters nothing more than the
soft tinkling of chimes in the background. She pulled her cloak
tighter around herself. The cold winter weather was moving in now.
The ground not yet covered with snow, but very, very soon it would
be. She leaned against one of the tall pine trees taking a deep
breath of soothing, spicy scent. She felt tired, so very tired of
all the changes and new things in her life. Everything happened
faster than she could adapt to it. Sanda pushed away from the tree
and continued walking, towards the village. Her mind wrapped up in
berating itself.

Yes, she knew she had asked to become a
Lycan. It felt so very long in the past. She shook her head. It
only happened a few months ago. So much had changed in her life
since that night in the clearing when Beryx came for her. She'd
been expecting death, but instead was granted a new life, strange
and frightening. It also had its benefits. She couldn't deny her
love for Beryx had grown rapidly in the ensuing weeks. However, she
couldn't quite embrace her new status as a werewolf. That creature
inside of her … so violent, so careless with life.

Sanda glanced toward the sound of something
thunking against one of the distant trees. She considered ignoring
it and continuing down the mountain, but a man's soft curse rang
out between thunks. She thought she recognized the voice. Sanda
wandered off the trail towards the sound.

It didn't take her long to reach Garrett
where he was chopping down a small pine tree. It was alone in a
rocky area among the other trees. The hard ground and wind shaped
and twisted the trunk into a withered old man's frame.

“Putting it out of its misery?” Sanda asked
Garrett, getting his attention. Garrett stopped swinging the axe
towards the base of the tree. He straightened, wiping his brow, and
nodded to her. Sanda walked over to stand by Garrett and examine
his progress. He’d chosen a gnarled curl in the tree to chop
through, but the wood was harder here and he had a time getting
through the trunk.

“Harvesting it for a new sculpture,” he
corrected.

“I don't know what you can make out
that.”

Garrett laughed. “You would be surprised what
this wood will reveal.”

“You're right, I would.” Sanda smiled,
grateful to be outside of her own worries for a short period of
time. “A peace offering for the Alpha?” She asked.

Garrett shook his head, grunting at the
suggestion. He reached out to pull up one of the needle coated
limbs, stroking the dense coverage with care. “A peace offering for
my mate.”

It took Sanda a minute to realize whom
Garrett was referring too. The human man from Ekras whom she had
almost killed. Sharp guilt and shame stung her. She flushed red
with embarrassment.

“I am sorry,” Sanda said reflexively.

 “Don't apologize,” Garrett said, “you
didn't know.” 

“No,“ Sanda grabbed his arm clinging to it.
She wanted to make sure he understood. “I'm sorry for coming
between you. I'm sorry for making things worse.”

Garrett let go of the tree limb. He watched
her through golden eyes strikingly similar to Beryx’s for a long
time. “We all made mistakes. I should've known better than to take
you into the valley during your transition.”

“If I had been in your place, I'd have done
the same things you did,” Sanda whispered, the harsh pain of losing
Beryx had been almost unbearable.

“And if I had been in your place, I'd have
done the same as you.”

Sanda looked up to see Garrett smiling at
her. He patted her hands with one calloused palm. She was amazed at
this cheerful ability to forgive and forget, even in the face of
potentially losing his mate forever.

“Let me help,” Sanda said to him. “It's the
least I can do.”

“Well, I am just chopping down wood.”

“I can help you carry, or I don't know, help
later with your courtship.”

Garrett laughed, throwing his head back as he
chuckled. Sanda found yourself laughing with him. The offer was
rather silly.

“It probably isn't a good idea for you to be
present during our courtship,” he said, still laughing a
little.

Another hot wave of embarrassment rushed over
her, but she continued to laugh a little at her audacious
suggestion. The man would probably be frightened to death of her.
She'd only make things worse for Garrett.

“I do want to help somehow. If only to make
things up to you.”

“You don't need too.” Garrett said.

“But I do,” Sanda said, “if there's anything
at all?”

Garrett sighed. “I will think on it.”

Realizing that was the best answer she could
possibly get right now, Sanda thanked him and left him to his
project. Sanda hoped things would sort themselves out. Before
meeting Beryx, and even after, she'd been terrified of Lycans.
Stories of them ripping people apart and devouring their sacrifices
ran rampant through her village as a child. She still couldn't
understand where the chasm between truth and fiction came from and
why it persisted in the human villages. She was grateful at least,
that it had been a lie. She could only hope that Garrett's mate
would come to see the truth eventually too.