Shifters, Beasts, and Monsters (16 page)

Ross pulled her to him and kissed her. He started
glowing, more brightly than ever, and she backed away.

“Damn. Let’s get this over with,” he growled.

Chapter Fourteen

The descending path snaked and twisted, but with Ross
to guide their way, Kate was not worried about getting lost. She could smell
the briny tang of the sea, and the air was fresh, suggesting an outlet to the
outside world. As they squeezed through a narrow opening, he held his electric
lantern high. Light flashed all around them, bouncing and shimmering from one
reflective surface to the next. It was beautiful—like a magnification of
the sparks that shimmered on Ross’s body every time she got too close to him.

But what she was seeing was natural. They had entered
a roughly circular cavern. The sea was rushing in from somewhere below, and all
around them were jagged rock faces embedded with chunks of crystal. The light
from the lantern was sparkling from thousands of crystal facets, shimmering in
new patterns as the lantern moved.

The effect was breathtakingly beautiful. But she was
so intent on gazing at the gleaming crystals that she tripped over some stones
on the ground.

He caught her, and his arm grabbing her around the waist
felt hot as a brand. He quickly let her go. “You see why I didn’t want you to
come here alone.”

“I remember it. I was here before. It’s where he
brought me.”

She continued to walk ahead of him down the narrow
path that circled the pool. “It’s a lovely spot for a sea dragon’s den. I take
it the water is coming in through an opening somewhere?”

“Yes. It’s tidal. The tide is out now. It’s beginning
to turn, actually, but high tide is still several hours away.” He joined her on
the lip of the pool. “The pool is quite deep, even at low tide, and it’s tidal,
too. It will fill and overflow. At high tide, this cave will be full of water.”

She looked up. The crystal ceiling was maybe two feet
above their heads. “Entirely full?”

“Just about. You wouldn’t want to be in here when the
tide is high.”

“What’s that?” she asked, squinting at a rock platform
on the far side of the cavern. It was the only place in the cave wall where the
crystal chunks were sparse, and there was something strange there, something dark
and jarring. She didn’t remember seeing it on the night the Zrakon had brought
her here.

“That,” he said, “is where we’re going. Come, I’ll
show you.” Slipping carefully past her, he led the way down the still
descending path towards the massive rock.

For a moment, she hesitated. As they got closer, she
could see that there were two thick, sturdy-looking chains hammered into the
rock wall. Each was several feet long, ending in a cruel iron manacle.

“Damn,” she said.

“Indeed.” He jumped down to the sandy bottom, which
was about a couple of feet lower than the path she was standing on. There were several
inches of water there now; he splashed through it to stand with his back
against the rock. “You put the victim here and chain her to the rock.” He was between
the two chains. “When the tide is out, it’s just a bit uncomfortable. But when
the tide is full and the cavern floods...” he let his voice trail off.

“But the sea dragon comes before that happens, right?
I mean, he’s not going to let me drown.”

“Of course not.”

She ran her fingers over one of the chains. She would
have expected it to be old and rusted, but it was shiny and new. She shivered. Had
it been installed especially for her?

When she turned to look at Ross, he was glowing with a
sparkling nimbus all around him. “Is that energy hurting you?”

“No. It’s just very hard for me to maintain control.”
His voice shook, and she believed him. “We may have waited too long.”

“Let’s be quick about it then,” she said practically.

She stripped off her clothing and jumped down to join
him. She tried not to look too hard at the depth of the water in the cavern,
which was rising rapidly. It was as if the waves were responding to the tumult
inside Ross.

When she reached the rock, she turned so her back was
against it. “You don’t need to chain me. I won’t run away.”

He was staring at her naked body. He seemed transfixed
by the sight of her. “I’d better follow the ritual exactly. I don’t want to
make him any angrier than he already is. Are you frightened?”

She began to say no, but in all honesty, she was
frightened. She was trying not to think about what was going to happen. Not
thinking about it made it easier to cope. “I am, of course. But I’ve met your Zrakon.
He was gentle with me.”

“You met me wearing his shape. I was in control. The
beast wasn’t dominant. Tonight he will be. He is hungry. Angry at being denied.
Frustrated at being forced to wait. I’m not sure what he is going to do. All I
know is that he’s bursting out of me and I can no longer rein him in.”

“Okay then. Let’s not make him wait any longer.”

 Ross took one of the chains and stretched it
out. The heavy clank of iron rang an unpleasant note in the cavern. He
hesitated. “You must be willing. I have to ask. It’s part of the ritual.”

“I am willing.” She held out her wrists. “You see? I
am giving myself to you.”

He touched her carefully. The glow retreated away from
his hands, so they did not burn her. He took the first chain and crossed her
body with it, from shoulder to hip. He put the iron manacles about her right
wrist where it lay against her hip, then did the same on the other side. The
manacles were loose on her, but as soon as they were closed, they seem to
tighten of their own accord until she could feel the metal biting into her
wrists. She shivered. There was real magic here. She could feel it. It seemed
to pulse all around them, and it had a dark and ominous feel. This was no sweet,
benign magic. This was ruthless, powerful, and fierce.

Ross stood back, looking at her chained to the rock. The
water was now over her knees, which was scary because no tide could come in so
fast. Ross didn’t seem to notice. He was breathing hard. The glow around him
intensified and became fiery. Maybe the sea dragons of Mallochbirn maintained
some vestige of their dragon fire, after all.

“What now?”

He didn’t speak. His eyes had gone wild. He began
pulling at his clothing, shedding it rapidly, tearing it off. He seemed to
waver before her eyes. His body emerged, strong and muscular. Even more
muscular than usual, perhaps. He was beautiful. Between his thighs, his cock
rose hard and thick and long. At least it doesn’t have spikes on it, she
thought, a little wildly.

The Hunger. She could feel the lust rolling off him.
He stepped back toward her, the fiery glow hot and searing. 

“No,” she cried. “You can’t touch me as a man. You
must let yourself change.” 

He wavered, as if no longer sure what he was doing. “Ross,”
she thought it to him this time, trying to open the golden tunnel into his
mind. “Can you hear me? You have to let the change happen.”

The mental bond didn’t form. It felt as though he was
blocked off from her.

He turned from her and dived naked into the pool,
which was already overflowing. The water was now splashing up over her hips,
rising higher every second. The dark waves closed over his form and he
disappeared.

Chapter Fifteen

“Ross...Zrakon...can you hear me?”

The water kept getting deeper. He had said that the
cavern could flood, but only at high tide. Maybe a gale had swept in from the
sea and sent more water crashing into the cave? It had been a calm, clear evening
when they had begun to make their way down here.

But that was in another world. Here, in this world
tinged and vibrating with magic, a storm was brewing. The waves were rolling,
cresting. A harsh wind was blowing thru the cavern, sweeping her hair in
ribbons around her. Oddly, it didn’t feel cold. The rising water, which surely
must derive from the cold Scottish seas outside, was cool but not icy.

Nothing about this made sense.

Where was Ross? He hadn’t surfaced since he’d dived
into the water. Had he transformed into the Zrakon? What if he’d drowned? No
man could hold his breath for such a long time. Just as she wouldn’t be able to
hold hers if the damn water didn’t stop coming in. Maybe they were both going
to drown. Maybe that was what their doomed union was meant to be—a union
in death. Maybe someone would find both their bodies washed up on the rocky
shores of Mallochbirn Isle.

Then she heard the hissing. She had heard it before, a
few nights ago in the surf near the village. The Zrakon. He was coming. He was
coming for her.

Okay, where was her vaunted courage? This was all too
freaky, with the wind and the waters, which were up to her waist already. “Ross?”
She was sending out the golden thread, trying to reach his mind, but the thread
was just flailing around. She couldn’t find him; couldn’t form the mental bond.
She felt abandoned and alone.

The Zrakon was here, though. He hadn’t surfaced, but he
was racing round and round the cavern in a frenzy, occasionally flipping his
mighty tail. Even though she could not communicate directly with the creature,
she could sense his feelings. Lust. Triumph. Exultation. My god, what a male—he
was delirious with the thrill of finally capturing his prey. Her.

“Zrak,” she sent, determined to speak to him even if
he was too stubborn to listen, “Calm down. Yes, I’m here and yes, you’re about
to achieve your goal. You’re a mighty sea monster. Really kick-ass.” She tried
to sound as emotionally sincere as possible, sending all the praising,
admiring, wow-you-are-excellent vibes she could manage.

“But you still have stuff to do here. Like freeing me
from this rock before the water comes up over my head, which it’s already doing
every time your wake hits me. Stop that! Dammit, Zrak, I’m going to drown!”

Just as she was beginning to lose hope that he would
ever quiet down, the waves stopped churning. She was chest deep in water now,
and she was beginning to feel chilled. “Ross, for god’s sake!” She writhed
against the rock, trying to pull herself free of the chains. She knew it wasn’t
possible; they were too strong, but her body wasn’t listening to reason. “If
you’re anywhere in there with a working
brain
, please help me!”

She felt something then. In her mind. Not a thought,
exactly, but a warm and reassuring emotion. Or maybe she was imagining it.
Maybe she was already drowning. Everything was so confusing with the magic
vibrating around her, messing with her head.

She heard a roar, and the water rose up before her
like a tidal wave.
This is it. I’m going to die.
But it was him, the
Zrakon, lifting his snout out of the black sea. She saw his shiny scales and
his piercing silver eyes. He opened his enormous mouth and roared again, all
but puncturing her eardrums.

“Zrak! Stop that. I get it. You’re awesome. Now get me
out of these fucking chains!”

One of his mammoth paws swatted at her. She cringed
involuntarily, expecting to feel a slash, but his claw only struck the chain,
ripping one away from her body. Her arm with the manacle came up and she feared
for her wrist, but the metal parted as he yanked it away. The pain was minimal.
He seized the other chain and disposed of it in the same manner.

Thank god. She struggled to move to higher ground when
one of the thick tentacles wrapped around her chest and waist. It was warm, as
she remembered from the last time. But he was rougher than he’d been when Ross was
in control. He jerked her against his chest, where the cage of tentacles had sheltered
her when they swam together through the dark. Was he going to take her
somewhere again? This was his lair, surely. Weren’t they going to stay here?

He forced her against him, face first. She couldn’t
breathe. Her mouth and nose were plastered against hard, briny muscle. She tried
to find the bud that would channel his air from his lungs, but he was holding
her so roughly that movement was impossible.

“Ross!” she screamed in her head, still seeking the
mental link that had become so elusive. Why couldn’t she reach him?

There was a sharp pain in her scalp as Zrakon fingers
yanked at her hair. But he was shifting her position. He jerked her neck back
then slammed her into him again, and this time she felt the stubby protrusion
that she recognized from the first time as the air bud. He pressed her face
onto it, and she was able to get her mouth around it. Once again, it felt like
a short, thick cock. Air rushed into her lungs and she breathed deeply.

He was being so rough! 

Do that thing with your tongue again,
she heard in her head.
He likes that.

“Ross?” She nearly wept from pure thankfulness at
hearing his familiar voice in her head.

He’s letting me through, finally. Maybe he needs
my sexual expertise. 

To her surprise, he sounded amused. Lighthearted even.
Relief rushed through her. Ross was here. He was still part of the Zrakon, even
if his beast was dominant. Surely he wouldn’t let anything horrible happen to
her.

With his consciousness came his
emotions—sweeping through her like the wind. Most of all, the Hunger. It
was more than a man’s lust—it was a primal storm of need and desire. Like
the light from the lantern, it seemed to radiate around the cavern, from
crystal to crystal, infinitely magnified.

She focused on her task—oral stimulation of a
body part she couldn’t even name. She ran her tongue around the edges of the
appendage, then moved inward, trying to breathe at the same time that she
darted her tongue into the soft, inside rim of the breathing slit. The Zrakon thrashed
against her, and she heard the gleeful splash of his tail.

He readjusted her against him, and, between her legs,
she felt the huge pressure of his mammoth thorny penis. Well, they weren’t
thorns, exactly. More like fleshy protrusions. One of them flexed and tickled
her a little down there. Hmm, that could be interesting. It might be
very
interesting if it were considerably smaller than its current dimensions.

She hoped Ross would remember his plan to downsize the
Zrakon. So far, the creature was just as huge as ever.

“What else does he like?” She reached one hand down to
explore the scary penis. Maybe she could make friends with it?

Ah. Yesss,
he said as she
ran her fingers over the rounded tip.
He likes that. He likes that a lot.
The tip of a tentacle swished between her legs, and she jumped. He twisted
in the water, his huge mouth opening wide, showing his fearsome teeth. She
backpedaled furiously, but his tentacle held her. His big body flexed, and she
realized he was stretching. Maybe even preening for her.

Can you convince him to let you keep talking to
me? It’ll be nicer for him if he lets you tell me what he wants.

That worked
, Ross’s amused
voice responded a few seconds later.
He’s going to let me guide you.

“Jeez, this feels like a kinky threesome. With
tentacles.”

Because the water made her buoyant, she was able to
twist a bit and float. She pulled on the massive prick, figuring she couldn’t
actually hurt the thing, until a good portion of it was above the surface of
the water. Then, taking a deep breath, she went down on him.

All she could take into her mouth was the tip, but a
sudden watery gasp from his dragon mouth hinted strongly at his delight. The fleshy
barbs started a couple inches down from the tip and descended the entire length
of the phallus—a length she didn’t even try to measure because it would
totally freak her out. The width was formidable enough, without factoring in
the fucking length.

She ran her hand down the shaft and was glad that the
protrusions didn’t hurt her palm. Even so, they were so heavily concentrated
that they made the organ even thicker than it already was. As she stroked them,
the Zrakon made a deep crooning sound. Was he purring? She experimented by
licking one of them and probing it with her tongue.

God, that’s incredible. Has anyone ever told you
how amazing you are?

“Me? You’re the amazing one. I’m just an ordinary
human.”

She felt a surge, and the Zrakon gathered her in his
arm-like appendages and lifted her out of the water. Striding forward on his hind
legs, he carried her to the fine sand at one end of the cavern. He set her down
carefully. The extra volume of water in the cavern was receding. The Zrakon
might be horny as hell still, but at least he seemed calmer.

 “You’re lovely,” he said aloud, his deep hissing
voice echoing throughout the cavern.

She shook out her long, wet hair. “Thank you.”

Ah, Catriona.
This has been the longest
week of my life. You are willing?

She was hearing Ross’s inner voice and looking into
the eyes of a lustful sea dragon who planned to take her for its mate. How this
could happen, she still didn’t understand.

“Yes.”

Forgive me. I don’t think I can be patient any
longer.

What was she supposed to do? Remembering her dreams,
she sat in the sand. If she lay down and spread herself out, would he crawl between
her legs like a man, the way he had done in the dreams? And if he did, how
could she possibly accommodate him? “
Tell me what to do.”

I’d shift into human form and hug you if I could,
but I can’t touch you that way. I can’t seem to change, either. Not tonight.
The Zrakon form is totally dominant.”

At least they could communicate. How much more frightening
it would be, she thought, if there were silence between them.

He stepped closer to her. As the water slid off his
tough hide, his scales flashed bits of color, reflecting the crystals of the
cave. He looked beautiful in a way. Proud and shining, this old dragon of yore.
What had the Zrakon done, she wondered, that had lost him his place in the skies
and reduced his magnificent wings to tatters?

She stretched out her hand. “Come. Tell me how to
please a sea dragon.”

Let me touch you. Don’t be afraid.

“I’m not. Not anymore.”

He stood straighter, but he seemed less huge. Was Ross
shape shifting him downwards at last? He still towered over her, but not by so
great a margin. His body changed in a subtle manner, becoming more human, less
dragony. His face relaxed and even his eyes changed. The silver was still the
dominant hue, but she could see some of Ross’s blue in those eyes now, too.

He knelt down beside her. One of the tentacles from
his pectoral region curled gently around her. The tip of another swished
between her legs and found her core. It explored, sliding between the petals of
her labia. Some of the Hunger moved into her.

The ancient customs demand that I stay in the
Zrakon form for the mating. Shape shifting downwards in size will take magical
energy, but I will sustain it as long as I can. Ultimately, though, I fear I am
going to have to hurt you.”

Kate reached out towards his head, and he brought her
closer. She stroked the leathery skin around his large eyes. “A little sexy
pain is okay,” she said, trying to be lighthearted about it.

“Catriona.
The voice in her
head was tender now.
Tonight is for you and me. I just wish I didn’t have
to spend it as a reptile.”

She smiled. “You’re a mammal, remember?”

“Right. Well that’s different, then.”
He was laughing. “
Still, I won’t be offended if you close your eyes.”

“I don’t need to close my eyes.” She put her arms
around his scaly neck. “In fact, I’m beginning to find this new body of yours rather
interesting, Zrak. Are you going to show me what else you can do with your
tentacles?”

This body has all sorts of unique surprises in
store for you, beloved.
I don’t believe you’ve yet been
introduced to my long, agile tongue.”

“So show me.”

She felt the Hunger thunder through the cavern—through
the very world, it seemed—as he began to arouse her with those amazing
tentacles and that flexible tongue, using his dear, familiar voice in her mind
every bit as much as he used his strange, unfamiliar body.