Shifters, Beasts, and Monsters (17 page)

In the end, as promised, he made himself only a little
taller and broader than she, but his barbed phallus still seemed to her like a
torture instrument from one of the Inquisition’s darkest dungeons. His body was
much closer now to a man’s size, but his dick was still enormous.

Despite the desire he had nurtured in her, as she lay
back and opened herself to him, she feared she would soon be screaming in pain.
She had heard there were ways to savor erotic pain, as long as it was mixed
with the right amount of pleasure. She could endure, she told herself, even if
there were no rewards to be harvested.

He crouched over her.
Kate, forgive me, I must—I
have to—

“
It’s all right. I’m ready, take me.”

She felt pressure and a burst of pain, nothing close
to her limits at first, then rising sharply. The knobby protuberances rammed
against her soft tissues, trying to force their way inside her. It was
agonizing. She tried her best to relax, but this was almost impossible against
such an assault. But just as it was beginning to seem intolerable, there were
sparks all around him and a powerful glow of magic that flashed throughout the
cavern from crystal to crystal, bathing them both in shining rainbows of light.

She felt him slide inside her with no pain, his
movements transformed into strokes of smooth, frictionless delight. His scales
dissolved into flesh, and his silvery sea dragon eyes turned cornflower blue. Instead
of tentacles, Ross’s hair tickled her body, and she could feel his warm human
skin, sinew, and bone.

“Oh, Ross.”

Her willingness to accept the Zrakon and take his
alien flesh inside her must have broken the spell. His human form was no longer
banned from touching her. He was Ross again.

“Kate, thank god,” he spoke to her in his real, human
voice. “Are you all right? It doesn’t hurt?

“No, no, not at all.”

His mouth lowered to hers at last, and he kissed her
as their bodies joyfully fulfilled the unspoken promise that had been made
between them when two strangers had looked into each other’s eyes and felt the Mallochbirn
magic jolt them.

His cock still stretched her, but it was a delicious pressure
now, and she arched her back to meet him thrust for thrust. He went deep,
touching something inside her that sent her pleasure spiraling ever higher. She
held on tightly to the driving muscles on his back, loving the way they flexed
every time he moved.

He slid one hand under her and tilted her pelvis so
his cock put pressure on her clit with each thrust. The combination of his
fierce penetration and this extra stimulation soon wound her up to the breaking
point. She cried out in bliss as she crested the wave. Such exquisite pleasure.
With her tissues clenching around him, he slammed into her a few more times
before he stiffened and emptied himself deep inside her.

Around them, the colors danced as the crystals shone.

Chapter Sixteen

Kate woke one morning three months later with the sun
in her eyes and her lover’s voice in her mind:

It’s time to play, beloved.

Feeling an odd sensation, she opened her eyes. A large
butterfly beat his wings rapidly against her toes, then flew up and landed on
her stomach. She saw brightly-colored, diaphanous wings of near-transparency
and great beauty. “You’re gorgeous,” she said. “Good morning, my laird.”

He flew out of her line of sight. Something growled. A
large, sleek mountain lion was standing beside the bed. He licked one of her
breasts with a rough tongue and she gasped, and then giggled. “I hope you’ve
already had your breakfast.”

You know what I’m hungry for.

He shrank and twisted before her eyes and became a
snake. He flowed over her body, arrowed down across the expanse of her belly,
coiled around her thighs. His head found her and a tiny, delicate tongue
flicked across her sex. She moaned.

“You’re a very wicked man, er, magical creature.”

Ha. I will show you wicked.
He
became a mosquito and settled on her thigh; considered, humming his
high-pitched whine, then flew up and landed threateningly on her nipple.

“What if I swat you? Will all forms of you die?”

He turned into an owl and perched on her hand, looking
very thoughtful and wise.
That, my love, is an interesting question. I
don’t know. I have a feeling that if you—or anyone else—tried to
injure me, I could simply shape-shift the injury until it healed. But if I were
instantly snuffed out, I guess I wouldn’t have the time to do so. So don’t swat
me, please.

She reached down with her free hand to stroke his
feathers. “
In that case, you’d better not do anything that makes it
tempting to swat you.”

He became a very long snake who rapidly coiled himself
around her torso several times, imprisoning her arms inside his tight coils.
Can’t
swat me now.
His head aimed downward and flicked her between her legs
again.

Kate closed her eyes. She had always liked snakes. But
she was glad when he turned into Ross again, a very eager, human Ross whose
ability to keep teasing her was lost in his own need.

Afterwards, she asked, “Can you be any creature you
choose, now?”

“Some are harder than others—I don’t know why. And
some take more of my energy than others do. Winged creatures in particular are
exhausting.”

“What’s the easiest?”

The bed groaned beneath them, and scaly knobby hide
was all she could see or feel. He had transformed into the Zrakon. His tail
dragged on the floor, taking up much of the room in the bedchamber. His deep
voice hissed out. “This form takes no special energy and is easy to maintain.
”

“Easier than your human form?”

“No. Human is still the most natural.”

“My love, you’re going to destroy the bed.”

He shifted back to human Ross. “I wouldn’t want to do
that. Especially since that bed is cradling not only my beloved wife, but also
my child.”

“Your child is nothing more than a speck at the
moment, love.”

He kissed her bare belly. “Such a lively little speck.
I swear I can feel him moving around in there.”

She laughed. “It’s probably gas. But in a few weeks,
we should both be able to feel him. Or her.”

He slid up to kiss her mouth, while she tangled her
fingers in his hair. “Are you happy, Catriona?”

“Deliriously happy.”

“I love you.”

She laughed. “You’d better. I tamed your monster, didn’t
I?”

“Aye, you surely did.”

“I love you, too, Ross. Zrak. Tentacles and all.”

“I think you love my tentacles more than the rest of
me.”

“I do not.”

“Oh aye? I say you do. Shall we test my theory? We
could go down to the cavern and splash around.”

She laughed. “Any time, Zrak.
Any time.”

Linda’s Bio

Linda Barlow is the bestselling author of 20 novels,
with more on the way. She lives in New England with her mysterious spouse (who
sleeps during the day, which has often made her wonder if he’s a vampire) and
their equally enigmatic and nocturnal cat.

Her novel
Leaves of Fortune
won the Rita Award,
and
Fires of Destiny
was a finalist for the same award. She loves
reading, writing, computer games, and dark chocolate.

For news about new releases, sign up for Linda’s
Mailing
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Linda’s website:
http://www.lindabarlow.com

by

Elixa Everett

Description:

When called to the aid of a
beautiful woman down on her luck, Shamus is surprised to discover that he and
Suzanne are destined to be together. Lifetime unions between mystical beings
like Shamus and ordinary humans like Suzanne have been unheard of...until now.
But the real question is, will Suzanne want him when she discovers that her
exciting new lover is actually a leprechaun?

Chapter 1

Shamus could feel her need
calling out to him.

Despite his current
obligations, the urgency of her call made it necessary that he drop everything
to assist her. Her need was overwhelming. Dropping his cards down onto the oak
poker table, Shamus stood up. He nodded to his four leprechaun associates,
"I'm really sorry gentlemen, I have to go."

"I bet you do," his
buddy Cass commented dryly from across the table as he rolled his gleaming
green eyes. This succeeded in giving the impression to the others that Shamus
was trying to pull a fast getaway, before he endured the humiliation of going
broke.

Shamus had to admit his pile
of gold was starting to look pretty puny in comparison to the other leprechauns
at the table, so he could understand them thinking that might be the case.
"Well I guess luck wasn't on my side tonight, fellows," he chuckled,
throwing up his hands in defeat and giving a gracious bow.

A round of knowing chuckles
erupted at the table in response.

"If the lad has to go,
he has to go," the eldest of the group, at the ripe old age of three
hundred and ninety-seven, stated in his defence. In the case of Mel, three
hundred and ninety-seven looked more along the lines of twenty-five. Tall, dark
and handsome, that was how the ladies, both mortal and mystical, described him.
Not exactly the normal image to spring into a human’s mind when thinking of a
leprechaun.

Shamus finished off his beer.
The beer at that particular tavern was the best in Leprechaun Valley, so he
wasn't about to leave a drop behind. Slamming the beer stein onto the table, he
leaned over and snatched up his remaining gold, throwing it into the front
pocket of his black trousers. "Until next week, men."

He received a murmur of
farewells from the others in response.

Shamus exited The Lucky Man's
Tavern and headed for home. The Lucky Man's Tavern was an exclusive
leprechaun-only tavern, which he frequented regularly when he wasn't busy with
a charge – a charge being the human or humans to whom he was assigned to
bring luck and lead back onto the path of their destiny.

When a human happened to be
seriously down on their luck, then the leprechauns could sense it. The
mechanics of which leprechaun was paired with which human wasn't really known,
even to the elders, but the system worked, so no one bothered to question it.

Her need became stronger with
each passing second, making his stomach clench. Part of the reason why
leprechauns answered the calls was simply because the calls became increasingly
intense, mentally and physically until they were answered. If you wanted some
time to yourself to relax you did your job quickly and efficiently. Shamus was
thankful he was very good at what he did.

Too bad I don't play poker
as well as I take care of my charges
, he mused, grinning to
himself. He'd be one rich leprechaun if he did. Shamus picked up the pace as he
continued to make his way home, anxious to get to work.

He needed to get to his pot
of gold. The pot of gold was the key to the leprechauns’ communications with
the humans’ world. It was what some might consider an oracle, of sorts. It told
them where their charges could be found and also allowed them to watch the
humans with whom they were connected. It not only helped them determine what
was causing the human such bad luck, but also, by watching, they could better
help to get the humans back on track and fulfilling their destiny.

He hurried inside the small
log cabin he called home, taking long powerful strides as he headed for the
living room where his pot of gold was kept. Once in the living room he made
straight for the left side of the brick fireplace where a large black kettle
containing his gold was situated. The kettle was an ancient cast iron vessel,
roughly two feet in diameter and two feet high. It was filled with golden
nuggets. As he reached the kettle, he fell to his knees in front of it.
Touching the rim on either side, he recited an ancient leprechaun chant that he
had learned by heart as a youngster.

The gold nuggets began to
liquefy into a thick, metallic broth. Once fully liquefied, Shamus watched as
images began to appear within the kettle. Images of a woman appeared, of the
woman who needed him so badly.

Shamus's kettle brought to
him Suzanne, and so he watched, evaluating the severity of her situation.
Sometimes a pinch of gold dust blown in the human's direction from a distance
would be enough to get their life back on track. With Suzanne, he felt that her
situation would require a more hands-on intervention. When calls came to him
with the urgency that hers seemed to have, it meant there was something
seriously out of balance in that person's life. As he watched over her
throughout the next few days, he began to realize that she perhaps needed more
than a little sprinkle. She needed a full-blown sandstorm of it!

****

"Oh, come on!"
Suzanne growled at her little silver Ford Focus as she pumped the gas pedal,
while turning the key in the ignition, "Go, damn you, GO." The car
wheezed and whined, considered starting, but ultimately decided against it.

She sat back in the worn fabric
car seat and closed her eyes. She shook her head in disgust at her little car.
"Of all the rotten luck," she muttered, opening her eyes again. She
looked at her watch, 8:10 am. She didn't have to be at work until 9 am and the
drive was only about fifteen minutes, so even if she was forced to call a cab
she still wouldn't be late. She just preferred to get there early. If she
didn't, then the parking lot would be full, which meant she'd need to park on
the side of the street. That meant every two hours she'd need to go outside and
move her car to avoid getting a ticket.

I need a new job
,
she told herself for the hundredth time that month. She'd been saying that for
a couple of years now. She just never seemed to actually get around to looking
for one. Or maybe wasn't motivated enough. She secretly feared that at the age
of twenty-eight she was becoming one of those people who accepted their
dead-end jobs as their lifelong careers.

This can't be as good as
it gets
, she thought in disgust.

Taking a deep breath, she
closed her eyes, and rubbed the rabbit's foot she kept on her keychain for good
luck. She turned the key in the ignition once again. The engine started to turn
over, making her hold her breath in anticipation.
Start, baby, start!
With a little insistence from her foot on the gas pedal, the car finally roared
into life.

She mentally threw her fist
in the air in a victory salute.

Throwing the car into gear,
and flipping on her signal light, she pulled out from her parking spot and onto
the street. Suzanne felt as if she had just won a grand battle. Man versus
machine. For this round man had won outright.

The victory was short-lived
as she pulled onto the highway and headed for the other side of town. By the
highway, the drive would normally take her fifteen minutes to get to work. But
not today.

Cruising along slightly above
the speed limit, Suzanne's spirits were beginning to lift. She sang along with
the Beach Boys on the radio. They were a wee bit before her time, but on a
warm, bright summer’s day like today, they seemed a perfect fit.

The song ended, to be
followed by the local traffic report. According to the announcer the highway in
Boston heading from east to west was currently impassable, with an expected
half-hour wait due to a massive, multi-car accident.

"Pfft. Think they goofed
on that report," she said out loud, with a little snicker. It was smooth
sailing, not even a hint of traffic to be seen. She had barely gotten the words
out of her mouth when she rounded a slight bend in the highway and was
confronted with a massive back-up of traffic stretching as far as the eye could
see.

"Ugh," Suzanne let
her head fall lightly onto the steering wheel as her foot slammed on the brake,
bringing the car to a halt. She heard the sound of screeching tires behind her
and winced. She looked up and down the highway, attempting to see if there was
any way to exit it at that point.

There wasn't.

She was stuck sitting right
where she was until the cars were permitted to continue onwards. "So much
for getting a parking spot on the property," she muttered.

Snatching her large, black
leather Gucci handbag from the passenger seat of the car she pulled it over,
onto her lap. Unzipping it, she searched for her wallet within the sea of
needless junk she tended to fill it with.

Found it!

Pulling her wallet from the
purse, she set the handbag back down in the passenger seat and unzipped the
section that held her change.
Might as well get my handful of quarters ready
now for today's parking
, she thought becoming annoyed, like she usually did
when she had to pay for parking in order to simply go to work. It made her feel
like she was being forced to pay to work at her shitty call center job.
Buck-fifty to make minimum wage, taking shit from people for eight hours. Sweet
deal, indeed.

"I need to get a new
job," she muttered to herself yet again.

When peering into the change
compartment of her wallet, she realized she didn't have enough for her first
two hours at the meter.
Short fifty cents
. Suzanne exhaled loudly as she
shifted her car into park. As long as she didn't turn it off she'd be fine, it
was the starting that became problematic at times.

Surely there is fifty
cents somewhere on the floor
, she reasoned pushing her seat
back as far as it would allow and looking down to the floor. She grinned to
herself as she noticed two sparkling silver pieces on the floor. Bending down,
under the steering column she snatched them up. Two quarters – perfect!

A car horn blared from
behind, startling her. By reflex she jerked her head up to smash the back of it
on the underside of the steering wheel. A sharp pain rushed through her head. A
second car horn began blaring in harmony with the first, followed by a third.

"All right, all
right," she muttered sitting up, and readjusting the seat.

"What's your problem
lady?" a male voice in the car behind her yelled impatiently.

"Wake up!" a second
male voice added.

Looking straight ahead,
Suzanne noticed the highway ahead of her was empty and the traffic to her left
was speeding along beside her. Even more car horns blared as she shifted the
car into gear and continued on her way.

As anticipated the parking
lot was full by the time she arrived at work so she was forced to pay for
parking at a meter off-lot.
Good thing I found those two quarters on the
floor.
Once parked she shut off the engine and quickly hopped out of the
car and into a deep puddle of water she hadn't noticed to be there when
parking.

The water seeped up over the
top of her feet, which were wearing a brand new pair of black strappy heels,
soaking her feet and the new shoes. Taking a deep breath to help calm herself,
she backed away from the car and out of the puddle, slamming the door shut
behind her.

"Great start to the day,
Suzanne," she muttered to herself as she fed the meter the four quarters.

****

At 5 pm as all the other call
center workers turned their telephones off for the day, Suzanne found herself
still tethered to the phone listening to a potential customer rant and rave
about their competitor’s poor service. She didn't care about the customer’s
problems with the other telephone company; as a matter of fact she couldn’t
have cared less if they switched companies at all, at that point. Currently,
the meter her car was sitting at was running out of time, hitting its two-hour
mark and if she didn't get out there soon there would be a hefty parking ticket
under her windshield wiper.

By 5:10 pm Suzanne had
finally had enough of the ranting woman on the other end of the telephone. She
asked her straight out whether she wanted the service or not. The woman was
annoyed with her current provider, but Suzanne was far from shocked when the
potential customer eventually answered that despite her issues with her current
service provider, she was going to stay with them for the time being. She would
contact them if she changed her mind.

Angry, Suzanne released the
call without bothering to say goodbye, or using a “proper” closing dialogue.
Tossing her headset into her desk drawer and locking it inside Suzanne hurried
out of the building and towards her car as quickly as her heels would allow her
to move. She struggled to hold the knee-length skirt of her pale yellow
sundress down as the strong, warm wind attempted to send it flying up and
around her.

"Bloody great!" she
snarled as she approached to see exactly what she expected to see: a ticket
placed neatly under her windshield wiper. "Great day this had been so
far," she moaned. Plucking the ticket from under the wiper she did her
best to avoid the puddle as she unlocked the car door, opened it and slid
behind the wheel.