SkyFall (Taken on the Wing Book 2) (17 page)

“
Spare keys in the visor,
”
Soar says to the male who gives a curt
nod and heads to the front. He
’
d done a good job of keeping
his eyes where they should be but Soar
’
s
girl is naked and the cop is, well, male.
“
Hold her still. I relocated
her shoulder and gotta get the table out of the way.
”

The female officer smells sweet with
light floral perfume and cold rain as she presses past and replaces Soar
’
s hands with her own. As the campervan
eases into gear, Soar envisions the old thing riding on rims within a block
considering the layer of glass crunching under the tires.

“
Hey, sweetheart,
”
the cop says to Cloud as Soar takes the
table apart and props it up so it can
’
t fall.
“
What
’
s your name?
”

“
Ch... Ch... Cherry Cooper,
”
she
mumbles.

Damn you, Cooper. I hope you told her
what that means.
Then Soar decides he
’
ll skin any gryphon who had
that kind of talk with her.

“
That
’
s pretty. Is Cherry short for something?
Charlene?
”

Cloud looks at the police officer in
confusion then calms when she see
’
s Soar. He grabs her a t-shirt
and a pair of his sweats along with the first aid kit.

“
And who
’
s your friend?
”

“
Master Soar,
”
Cloud answers and Soar
winces.

“
It
’
s George, Ma
’
am,
”
Soar says.
“
George
Noble.
”

“
Hi, George. How many stories up?
”

“
Six,
”
Soar answers as he rolls up the shirt to
get the sleeve on her injured arm first. That way he can get it over her head and
other arm without aggravating her shoulder.

“
You rode a tornado six stories, Cherry,
”
the cop
’
s voice suggests she ignores Cloud
’
s confusion though her pointed look at
Soar is laced with concern.

“
We
’
re clear of the debris,
”
the other officer announces as they get
Cloud to her feet for the pants and Soar sets up the second bed, pulling it out
where the table had been.

The officer's hands quickly trace around
Cloud's body, the
n
rest on her palm where she
times Cloud's heart. She retrieves a flashlight and peers into her eyes then
puts it away. Finally her hands feel her scalp and she looks at her fingers
when she's done.

“
Cherry needs to be seen at the hospital,
”
the female says. "A possible broken
ankle, a deep contusion on her wrist
.
I can't see any sign of head
trauma or internal bleeding but then I'm not a doctor."

“
Agreed,
”
Soar
says though he won't be taking her anywhere.
“
You
guys are going to be busy. I
’
ll call for an ambulance but
there
’
s folks in more need than her.
”

“
It took my pants, Soar,
”
Cloud tries and they get her settled in
the corner with a pillow supporting her elbow. The female officer briefly
inspects Soar then nods and they run back towards the debris field. The van
sits
only a couple of blocks from the broken
buildings and Cloud startles every time a piece of glass falls. Even the click
of the door after the police leave bothers her.

Soar turns off the lights to give them
some privacy as another course of thunder crushes its way over the city.

“
Soar?
”
she calls.

“
Here,
little gryphon,
”
Soar elevates her leg up on
his and she grabs a fist-full of his wet shirt. Cloud pulls so hard a button
pops.

“
Remember when you first came to Vancouver Island?
”
he asks. With one hand he
takes a large elastic bandage from the first-aid kit as the other feels her
ankle for the break or dislocation. She walked on it before the tornado but
that doesn
’
t mean it wasn
’
t battered further. Cloud ignores the
prodding so he wraps it up, not too tight in case it
’
s still swelling.

“
A few weeks after you first moved to Vancouver Island there was a thunderstorm and it wasn
’
t
until you didn
’
t show up for evening meal
when we noticed you
’
d left. Talon and I looked for
you for hours as the storm went on and on.
”

“
Yeah,
”
she shivers. Soar moves beside her and
she curls up into his shoulder then he covers them both with a spare blanket.
Other than the warmth of blood still pooled around her neck she
’
s cold enough to make him shiver.

“
I found you on that rocky point a few
miles north. Your chair, you called it. A perfect stone shelf. You
’
d been sitting there watching the storm
like you summoned it yourself and you fell asleep. The next time there was a
thunderstorm Shadow practically tied you up to keep you in so you put your
hands on the wall so you could feel the thunder.

“
She let you sneak out when it was over
and you went right to your chair. I always wondered what you were thinking, out
there alone.
”

Soar uses his left hand to feel up and
down her back for more damage. The human-sized flight muscles are all tender,
in fact they
’
re painful, and he figures the
wind tried to take her wing. She
’
s lucky she only dislocated
her shoulder since setting a dislocated wing is nearly impossible for a single
gryphon.

“
I could see the whole world from up
there, Soar,
”
Cloud moans as he gives up on
checking her back. The damage doesn
’
t
much matter right now anyway since she won
’
t be flying again until he gets her home
to Firn and Dove for healing.

“
Nothing will hurt Shadow as long as I can
fly there and watch for trouble but now I can
’
t
fly.
”

Cloud
’
s legs twitch as another button pops on
Soar
’
s shirt.

What is he supposed to say to that? Every
gryphon in the eyrie feels the same way about Shadow but Cloud doesn
’
t need to hear that even the children and
the old can do a better job of protecting their Dame than she can.

This is why he can
’
t keep a female in his life for more than
a month. He
’
s either so mute they think he
’
s a complete asshole or he opens his
mouth and makes them feel like shit. Only Cloud ever had the ability to expand
his detached and insensitive vocabulary into something that could be considered
sensitive.

Soar gives up on talking and does the
only other thing he can think of. His hand goes to her stomach, low over her
womb like only her lover would, and she hisses at the intrusion.

“
Let me do this, Cloud. No strings, no
sex. Just reassurance. Later, if you want Lev and Talon to run me off for a
while or forever just say so.
”

Cloud
’
s eyes bore into him and for a moment he
’
s sure she can see the mark each of his
misdeeds has left upon his spirit. Then, with a swallow, she does something he
doesn
’
t expect.

Her chin comes up in submission.

“
I
’
m in trouble, aren
’
t
I? It
’
s death.
”

“
Yes,
little gryphon,
”
Soar brings his lips to her
neck before opening and placing his teeth on her throat in acceptance of her
surrender. A momentary sharp ache in his front teeth accompanied by a change in
her scent brings a growl to his throat. It
’
s early yet, so early she probably isn
’
t aware, but she
’
s going into season. The reason for the
growl is unclear. They
’
re unmated so he should only
feel the need to stay out of her grouchy way but all his teeth want is to mark
her then follow through with a thorough attempt at knocking her up.

Shit, gonna be a rough couple of days
ignoring that.

“
Cloud,
”
Soar gets a hold of himself.

“
Do
it... t,
”
she stutters and Soar starts
by simply placing his lips on hers. His thumb moves between them, unsealing the
kiss and drawing the tip of her tongue out to meet his before he goes back to
stroking her belly. Afterplay, it used to be, and would often lead to foreplay.
Beneath the thin soft layer of fat all females have she
’
s grown strong and her muscles work as he
deepens the kiss and she shifts beside him.

Cloud squeals at another round of thunder
so near the lightning's white glare has barely disappeared but Soar doesn
’
t back down. She warms and he uses his
thumb to tease her tongue as he works her jaw and throat. He
’
s also unbearably aroused. The first
touch of their lips sent his own lightning to his groin and now his cock
thickens, throbbing hard each time she squirms with fear; even harder each time
she squirms with pleasure.

He isn
’
t aware she
’
s released his shirt until her good hand
finds the button on his jeans. Cloud
’
s
fingers fumble at the clasp before driving down behind seeking something solid.

“
No,
”
Soar
orders. Hadn
’
t she heard him? No sex even
though suffering until his erection subsides might kill him.

“
But
—”

“
I will not repeat myself.
”
Soar won
’
t because he can
’
t. If she persists at all he
’
ll give in, mark her and God willing
become her mate. Either the scent of her season is already more powerful or he
’
s just more susceptible.
“
There will be no more than this until we
’
ve had a chance to talk about us.
”

“
Crap,
”
Cloud moans but she removes her hand and
Soar resumes the kiss with small pecks to her lips and jaw, tasting each inch
of her warming skin.

Minutes later, she doesn
’
t startle at the thunder and Soar draws
back, satisfied she
’
s doing better and relieved
the torment of kissing an aroused Cloud can start to fade.

“
Field medicine one-oh-one?
”
Cloud asks. The tremors are gone from her
voice and she tucks her head under his chin and yawns. For humans, sleep might
be a bad thing after such a trauma but for a gryphon it means they
’
re in the clear.

“
Yeah,
little gryphon,
”
Soar sighs. A single gasp,
equal parts relief and the remaining reserve in his system, promises to pull
him under with her. Just to make sure they get some rest, he pulls Cloud up to
one end of the bed and using his arm as her pillow, consumes her smaller body
in his embrace. Even though his clothes are still damp the heat between them is
perfect.

With a final sigh, Cloud
’
s chest rises and falls smoothly in
sleep.