A Magical Shift: A Hot Paranormal Fantasy Saga with Witches, Werewolves, and Werebears (Weres and Witches of Silver Lake Book 1) (16 page)

As if he could read her mind, Rye slipped lower. One lick would go a long way to satisfying her. When he spread her folds and dipped two fingers into her wetness, she clutched the sheets for dear life.

His expert fingers twisting around and around almost made her come, but she wanted to prove to Rye that she was strong too. When he pressed on one spot in particular, she bucked and yelled. “You better fuck me now or forever hold your piece.”

Heat raced up her face at the unexpected command. Izzy had never been the aggressor in bed, but with Rye it felt so right. Instead of impaling her, though, he licked her repeatedly. Crazy shifter. He had more control than she did. As he continued his sensual assault, flames engulfed her and she nabbed his shoulders and dug her nails into his skin. Her inner walls cramped with need. “Damn you, Ryerson.”

“Hold on. It’s about to get rougher, babe.” Rye must have sensed she was close to exploding because he rose to his knees and flipped her over. He lifted her butt, forcing her onto her elbows. Placing his cock at her needy entrance, he palmed her tits and pressed them together.

Now he was just being cruel. Deciding it was time to take some control, Izzy pressed her hips back, but all that accomplished was to drive his cock in partway. Only then did she realize that he was just too damn big to fit.

‡

“D
on’t do that
again,” Rye growled. “I’m trying not to shift.”

If he hadn’t taken so damned long, Izzy wouldn’t have had to resort to pressing back on him. “Okay.”

“I have to go slow.”

That would test her resolve. True to his word, Rye seesawed in slowly until he was fully seated. Her inner walls were stretched to the max, but his fullness turned her on like never before. As he started to ease out, she tightened her hold on him. Having him inside her was wondrous, and she wanted to keep him there a bit longer.

He pinched her nipples and sharp pulses shot straight between her legs, forcing her to release the tension of her inner walls. If only she had her powers, she’d light a fire under him or send a blast of wind behind him. Izzy lowered her head to the bed and the angle of his cock shifted.

“Oh, fuck it.” Rye palmed her breasts, withdrew, and then drove in hard.

Whoa. As pleasure consumed her, stars burst on the back of her lids. He planted his chest on her back and kissed her shoulder, almost as if he needed to distract himself.

“Yes, yes, yes,” she moaned.

As if his inner beast truly had escaped, he pounded into her over and over again, pushing her way past her limits of control. Without warning, his sharp fangs dug into her neck, transporting her elsewhere. The lack of pain surprised her and shot her into another dimension where her climax swept her away.

Rye released his hold on her neck, and as his hot seed filled her, he let out something that sounded close to a howl. His hands tightened around her waist, and he licked the spot he’d bitten. Izzy never wanted to move again, but Rye eventually pulled out.

“Be right back.” He trotted out of the bedroom and returned a few seconds later with a warm wet towel and cleaned her up. “Listen. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bite you. I got too excited.”

Izzy rolled over not sure how to respond. In truth, the bite had stimulated parts of her she hadn’t known existed. Hell, maybe it would help get her powers back sooner. “It didn’t hurt.”

“No? I’m glad.” He crawled in next to her and held her close. “You okay with sleeping here with me?”

She laughed. “I think it’s a little late to be asking that.”

“Perhaps. You’re not the type to thrash about, are you?”

Izzy tapped his nose. “I’m sure you can handle me if I do.”

“You got that right.”

*

The next day
was rather surreal. First, Izzy had woken up completely disoriented, not used to having a large man in her bed—or rather being in his bed. When she’d reflected on the amazing time they’d had the night before, she smiled. To her surprise, the fact he bit her didn’t bother her, as it had been a result of being overly stimulated.

Rye had nudged her awake, and then went to fix her a great breakfast. She had to admit that staying at his place had been the best choice.

Even though Rye had to be at the station earlier than she needed to be at the spa, he insisted they drive in together. As long as she promised not to go into the back alley, he said she should be safe.

To her surprise, when he dropped her off, her mom was already at the store. Her mother stopped arranging the candles on the storefront window, and ran her gaze over Izzy from head to her toe. “There’s something different about you this morning.”

“You’re changing the display?”

“I thought it needed a little sprucing up. Now don’t change the subject.”

The truth would come out sooner or later. Sometimes it sucked having a powerful mother who was way too intuitive. “Because that man tried to take me, Rye insisted I stay at his place. He said the Changeling’s powers would be diminished if he even stepped foot inside their compound.”

“I’ve never heard of that before.”

“Me neither.” Hmm. Perhaps Rye had told her that so she’d agree to stay with him. Regardless, it had been for the best.

“Did you sleep with him?”

Izzy froze, not sure how much to tell. “Geez Mom, I’m twenty-seven years old. That’s none of your business.”

“It most certainly is my business if he mated with you.” She stepped closer, and Izzy slapped a hand over her slightly swollen puncture wound.

She couldn’t tell if her mother was angry, concerned, or dare she say happy. “If you must know, he bit me in a moment of passion.”

“Then he’s mated to you.” She lowered her chin. “You do know that in order to complete the mating, your blue orb needs to encompass both of you?”

“I know the facts of life.” Jeez—at least the part about if she ended up with another Wendayan their glows needed to combine. She didn’t know it applied to being with a
Were
. Now she knew.

Her mother moved even closer. “Let me see the marking on your back.”

“Why?”

She placed her hands on Izzy’s shoulders. “I can see I’ve failed you by not explaining what happens when you mate with a shifter, not that it happens often.”

She thought it would never be an issue. “What do you mean?” Her heart jumped to her throat.

Her mom twisted her around and lowered her shirt. “So it’s true. Have you seen this?”

“Only my whole life,” Izzy spun back around, a bit irritated at her mom’s odd reaction.

“You now have a paw print underneath the vine. This means you two are mates for
life—
should you agree.”

Her breath hitched. “Rye’s hot, and I feel safe around him, but forever is a long time.”

“Are you in love with him?” Suddenly, her mom’s tone had lightened. “I realize that you played together growing up, but you hadn’t seen him in years.”

Why was she asking? “It’s too early to tell.”

Her mom huffed out a breath. “I’m glad you’re being cautious. Our communities are quite tight, but cross-breeding has rarely occurred as far as I know. I never understood why not, but I always figured Naliana had her reasons. Just so you know, if you decide he’s not the man for you, you can walk away and find another that suits you better. In time, that paw print will fade. Wendayans aren’t bound if a shifter mates with them, but Rye is committed to you. He can only have one mate, and apparently, you’re the one for him.”

Izzy didn’t know how to respond. “Not that I’m planning on it, but can’t he mate again if I leave?”

“No. Shifters without their mate go crazy eventually or die.”

“That’s horrible.”

“I didn’t make the rules. I’ll admit I’m a bit disappointed that he bit you without explaining the consequences, but he’s the one who will suffer if you decide you don’t want him.” Mom held up a hand. “However, in my humble opinion, it’s a real honor for a Wendayan to be with a shifter—especially a McKinnon.”

Izzy stood straighter. “I think it’s an equal honor that he’s with a Berta. After all, we are a rather powerful family.”

Mom smiled. “We are indeed.”

Izzy tried to recall what Rye had said about mating—or if he’d said anything at all. She’d been so wrapped up with losing her powers that she might not have heard everything he’d said. “It was my fault that we ended up in bed. Look can we not discuss this anymore? I’m still trying to process everything.”

“Sure, but you need to be thinking about whether you’re ready to be an Alpha’s wife. That’s a big responsibility.”

Izzy held up both hands. “Whoa. We had sex once! It’s not like he asked me to marry him.” Though after last night, the idea held a lot of appeal.

“Shifters—whether wolves, bears, or whatever—are a highly possessive breed. You could do worse, and the McKinnon blood is strong.”

Izzy had to change the subject. Too much was being tossed at her at once. “Duly noted, now, where’s my sister?” Usually she drove in with Mom, though the shop wouldn’t be opening for a little while.

“Missy has the day off, and I told Teagan she could rest too.”

Mom always liked to have three of them at the store in town in case she needed to work on a McKinnon or a Murdoch at Izzy’s house. Given both the Alpha and the Beta were on a cruise, she probably wouldn’t be needed. “May I ask why?”

Her mother glanced to the front door. “Dad and I think it would be best if you kept busy. Having four of us here won’t allow that. But being here doesn’t include you visiting your father every few hours. He can take care of himself.”

Izzy planted a hand on her hip. “Are you worried that creep will come after me again?”

“Honestly? Yes. Until your powers return, we want you safe.”

As much as Izzy wanted to argue, she had to agree with her for now. She was rather helpless against him. “What do you want me to do first?”

“You can clean the back room for starters. Mrs. Farrell will be in shortly.”

Not having the energy to argue, Izzy headed to the rear of the store. No sooner had she cleaned that room than her mom gave her another chore. By lunchtime, she was giving serious thought to looking for a teaching job. To make matters worse, her father came over with sandwiches from the deli, saying he didn’t want her going out to eat alone. Sheesh. Here she thought Rye was overprotective. These two were worse.

For the rest of the day, she performed some aura cleansings, gave massages, or played cashier. With only the two of them there, she was indeed busy.

A few minutes before closing, Rye arrived to drive her back to his place, and unexpected joy filled her. Compared to her folks, he was pure freedom.

As much as she wanted to pummel him with questions about this mating stuff, doing so might imply she’d accepted that they were going to be together permanently. For her own sanity, she wanted to wait a little bit longer before she decided.

Rye spoke with her mom then escorted her out. “How was your day?” he asked.

“Busy.” As he led her to his truck, she glanced around. “I trust you-know-who isn’t near.”

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t have let you out of the building if he had been.”

That was one benefit of being with a shifter. He could detect when another one was near. “So are you going to lock me in your house for the night?”

He opened the truck door and looked around as she crawled in. “I might if you don’t behave.” Rye grinned. “But first, I thought you might like to go to your special spot and test your powers.”

“Yes!” That was so sweet of him. “I’ve been chomping at the bit to try something, but I didn’t dare do anything inside the store. It would be horrible if I ended up setting the place on fire.”

Rye looked over at her and raised his brows. “Speaking of which, I’d feel more comfortable if you stuck to making waves on the lake or growing a plant. We don’t need a forest fire.”

“I promise. Fire’s my weakest talent anyway. Dad is the amazing one. His accuracy is something I aspire to someday. My aim sucks—kind of like my pool game.”

Rye laughed then started the engine. “I’ll be sure not to piss you off.”

She hoped he was kidding. “You should know that I only use my talents under dire circumstances.”