Chapter 18
TAKI'S POV
The rain drummed an idle pattern on the roof while I tangled my fingers in my wife's silky hair, the scent of lilacs surrounding me. My wife. I had always figured I would be the last of the brothers to mate, not the first. Or rather, the second. I rarely remembered that Conn had mated nearly a century ago, since the dumbass hadn't seen the woman in that long. I stretched in surprising contentment and wondered at the gift I held. I was no stranger to sex, but never had I felt the merging and pure searing pleasure of the night before. I had told her in temper I would never let her go. I now knew that to be the full and absolute truth. "Mine," I whispered quietly into the cozy cabin.
CLARA'S POV
A distant explosion rent the air, and I awoke with a soft cry. I found myself curled on my side against Taki, my hand flat over his heart while his fingers moved softly through my hair.
"It's all right," his sleep roughned voice whispered above me, and I lifted my head. God. He looked even more like an ancient warrior with a day's growth of dark beard and golden eyes mellowed with sleep. The breath caught in my throat as my body came alive. Then his eyes deepened to liquid gold, and I exhaled on a gasp.
He leaned down and gently pressed his mouth against mine before lifting to study my face. "Are you all right?"
Heat spread over my cheekbones, and my lids closed to cover my eyes. "Yes, er, I'm fine." I stutterred.
"Open your eyes, Clara." He demanded.
I looked up into deep gold. "I'm fine, really." I ran a hand down my arm and pulled at the metal cuff still attached to my wrist. A burnished gold, it wrapped twice around like an ancient Egyptian armband I had once worn with my Cleopatra costume during Halloween. "I can't take this off." I said.
"I know. It's my cuff. Only I can remove it." He replied with a grin.
Seriously? Good thing it was not a chastity belt, for Christ's sake. "Is it gold?" I pulled at the warmed metal, frowning when it didn't budge.
"There's gold in it. A Shaman Alchemist created them for us brothers centuries ago as a gift to my mother. He figured she'd need help tracking the five of us." He explained.
He shifted onto his back and tugged me into his side, running a hand down my arm to clasp the cuff. "We can track each other anywhere in the world with it."
"Can you put it on anybody?" I asked.
"Nope. The cuff goes on us or a mate." His hand wrapped around my wrist, the gentle motion in such a strong man making my breath catch in my throat. "Or, in Conn's case, it's thrown in a drawer somewhere." He added with a chuckle.
"Conn's a brother?" I shifted against his side, warmth pooling in my abdomen from his heat.
"Yep. He's the fourth—pure soldier. My older brother, Dage, is always on Conn to wear it, but it's a sticky subject, so …"
I tilted my head back to meet his golden gaze. "Why?"
He grimaced. "Conn accidentally mated the youngest daughter of an Irish Witchcraft High Priest about a century ago. The cuff belongs on her." He explained.
Accidentally? How in the hell … "Oh." I snorted. "You mean he had a one-night stand and ended up mated?" Not that she believed in this mating crap, but still. Served him right.
His full lips tipped up. "Close enough. Though, I do believe he's given her enough time to come to grips with the situation." Thunder bellowed in the distance, and a slight pattering sounded from the roof.
"Ah, a witch? Like a real witch?" Curiosity battled with Clara's scientist's mind.
"Yep. You'll probably meet her soon. I wouldn't be surprised if you had a sister-in-law to gripe with sometime soon." He said with a smile.
Unease swept through me. "Um, Taki. We should probably talk about this whole thing. I mean, it's temporary, you know? One just didn't get married and mated after a couple hours of knowing somebody." At least, I thought to myself. "Temporary, it is not," he said, dropping his head to place a smart kiss on my mouth. Thunder now pounded directly overhead. His eyes narrowed, and he rolled out of the bed, apparently unconcerned with his nudity. I couldn't blame him. He was all smooth skin and hard packed muscle. Good God, a bite marked his left pec—one that matched my teeth. I fought a blush as he quickly donned his clothing and weapons from the previous day.
"Stay here, darling. I'm going to check out the cabin and make sure my surprises for the human gang-members finished the job." He leaned over and gave me a hard kiss before heading for the door.
I waited until the door closed behind him before stretching in the big bed with a soft groan. I was sore everywhere. My mind played scenes from the previous night like an old movie projector. He had alternated between wild sex and gentle seduction, leaving me relaxed and loose in the morning. And sore.
I had never considered myself a passionate woman. My father had taught me early on that men weren't to be trusted—the bigger they were, the harder they hit. I graduated high school a year early and immediately headed into college and graduate school. After losing my parents, I had thrown myself into my studies and concentrated on plants, not people; resulting in me being shy and a bit awkward. My one sexual experience had been more of an experiment with my good friend and associate lab geek, Paul, who died in a car accident a mere month later, leaving me with the wonderful gift of Jane. Between motherhood and work, there had been nothing left. I smiled softly about my newfound knowledge—I could be a very passionate woman.
I lost my smile as I ran a finger over the already healing puncture wounds in my neck. His unique scent of spiced pine clung to my skin. I barely knew Taki; well, maybe I knew him quite a bit better than I had the previous night, but still, we weren't even of the same species. He had claimed me on a primitive level I didn't know how to define; I didn't know how to protect myself from him. Even more, I knew he wouldn't allow me to.
And that scared the hell out of me.
A crash of thunder outside made me jump and propel myself out of the bed to grab my clothing off the hardwood floor. I needed to be dressed when he returned. I paused in pulling on my underwear. "What the …" I stared at it in surprise.