To hell with this, he thought. He levitated and added more speed until he caught her mid-flight. He dragged her through the air to the sand and pinned her.
She shifted beneath him, laughing and struggling to breathe. “That was wonderful, Zane. Thank you. I needed that.”
With one hand on her chest keeping her in place, he used his free hand to run his fingers over her V-shaped fur. And as his breathing eased up, his fingers traveled so that he was playing with her breasts and making her nipples tighten into firm buds.
One thing led to another and he entered her body, making love to her again. He held her gaze this time, wanting to watch her come, to watch pleasure pass over her features and to see her breathing once more grow ragged with passion.
As she came, she held him tight and cried out. He even released a second time, pouring all that he was as a man deep inside her.
Later, he watched her rinse off again, sensing she was much more relaxed.
Hell, so, was he.
He even chuckled. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled this much or even laughed.
And he had no pain.
He grew very still at this last thought. Despite his resistance to a relationship of any kind, he valued the sudden, dramatic cessation of decades of crippling stomach pain.
And Olivia, part human, part shifter, had brought this to him.
But who was this blood rose who lived across from the Elf Lords Hideaway, who tracked him in a strange way she called ‘ghosting’, and who’d saved his life because of a cloaking ability she possessed?
“We should get going,” he called to her.
She returned to her clothes and used her jeans to dry herself off. For a long, ridiculous moment, he watched her and lusted all over again. She was beautiful and built, with large breasts and full hips. She was also tall for a woman of any species and strong. If ever a woman had been physically made for him, Olivia fit the bill.
“I like that you’re looking,” she said, hooking her bra. “But it’s going to take you some time to get those leathers and boots back on. You should probably get started.”
He chuckled. Again. He wasn’t even sure why, except that she addressed him without the slightest awe for his position as ruler of Swanicott.
His chest grew tight and hungry for something he’d never had in his entire life, not even with Emily. Could things be different with a woman like Olivia?
He took another deep breath and forced the question out of his head. At the same time, he recalled how much pain his marriage had brought him. He couldn’t go there again, always worrying about the woman in his life, not so long as the Invictus were such a threat in the Nine Realms. He knew that his fear for Emily’s safety had prompted many of their arguments.
Once he was dressed, he flew Olivia across the Arundel Mountains, heading to the coastal area where he’d left his Valkyrie.
When he told Olivia what he was doing, she laughed. “Do you really think it’s still there?”
“No, of course not. Or at least, not all in one piece. But a vampire can hope.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder, holding him tight with an arm around his neck. She used her free hand to fondle his bicep. Knowing that she enjoyed his body, he longed for things he shouldn’t even be thinking about.
Reaching the east coast of Swanicott, he let his internal guidance system direct him back to the spot where he’d left his motorcycle. He groaned. Only a few ripped up chrome pieces remained of the once high-powered machine. He heard a rustling nearby and had a sudden desire to catch one of the damn gremlins and wring its neck. But they were quick devils and would use up way too much of his time and energy to hunt any of them down right now.
“Ease up, Mastyr,” Olivia said. “Your ire is like a snake crawling over my skin.”
He blew the air from his cheeks and huffed a sigh. “Fine. They took my bike. I’m letting it go. At least I have a back-up Harley in the garage.”
“That’s the spirit. Move on.”
She was damn practical, and as he held his arm wide for her, he couldn’t help but smile. She stepped up onto his booted foot and slid her arm tight around his neck once more.
Move on. Sounded like a good idea, maybe on more than just one front.
With Olivia pinned to his side, he rose into the air and headed southeast. His lighthouse compound was a good fifty miles away, and he needed a shower and a change of clothes. Once more he crossed the Maris Luna Inlet, and Wraith Island. He could have taken Olivia back to her home in Barker’s Bend, but right now he didn’t want to let her out of his sight.
She also seemed oddly accepting of their destination.