The Light of Shadoewynne: Book 2 of the Shadoewynne Series Read online

  Not long enough, a small part of my brain answered. What I actually said, though, was, “Long enough to watch your delicious backside as you were dancing.” Oh shit! I did not mean to say that. Now my face was red.

  He froze at first, but then a huge, beautiful smile came over his face as his eyes flashed to a brilliant blue. “You think my backside is delicious?” He turned back toward the stove and began gyrating his hips in a circle. He glanced over his shoulder at me and winked. Heat flashed through me, pooling between my legs. Oh, fuck me please!

  “You mean that?” Now he was staring at me.

  “Shit. No. I did not mean to say that out loud. Tell you what, I’m just going to go back to bed. To go to sleep. I’ll get up later and re-start this morning.” I turned around but was grabbed from behind. Travis spun me back to him to kiss me hard. He picked me up and pinned me between him and the wall. Kait had awakened something in me last night, so my hands were roaming on their own, with no guidance from my brain. One hand was on his cheek and the other was rubbing his chest, under the apron, working lower and lower. He shifted, to support my butt with one hand, then he grabbed my roaming hand and held it to the wall above my head. I moaned as the movement caused my nipples to rub against him.

  He released my mouth, sliding me down the wall until I was standing on my own feet. We were breathing hard, and I could see the desire in his eyes. I didn’t know how to handle it, so I looked at the floor. A burning smell assaulted our noses, which caused Travis to began swearing.

  “Damn it! There goes that pancake. It was worth it, though!” He rushed back to the stove and scraped out the burnt pancake. Then, he threw it in the garbage before spraying the pan again to make the next one. I sat down at the table, touching my swollen lips with a shaking finger. I felt like I was going to go up in flames, and I fidgeted a little as the friction of sitting caused me to be aware of exactly what Travis had done to me. I watched the muscles in his back move for a while, but that was not helping me calm down.

  I was staring at the table when a plate slid into view. I glanced up, startled. Travis was smiling down at me. “It’s done, Babe. Time to eat!”

  He sat down next to me and began eating. I did the same, hardly tasting it, my mind was too focused on *ahem* other things. Travis bumped my shoulder with his.

  “What’re you thinking about?”

  “Hmmm? What?” I shook my head. Thank god David and Kait weren’t here to see the things going through my head.

  “I said, what’re you thinking about? You are bright red, fidgeting and not eating.” He was attempting to look into my eyes, but I deliberately kept glancing away.

  “Oh, um, nothing. So,” I cleared my throat, and continued, “So, are you going to train with me today? Kait said I needed to train, and you wanted some time with me.”

  A slow, seductive smile spread across his face. I think I turned even more red and I’m sure I looked like a lobster at this point. “Yeah, we are going to train. Then I have some things I want to show you.” His low voice had taken on a sultry edge. I was going to be in trouble if this continued.

  I didn’t respond and his smile dimmed. Great, now I’ve hurt his feelings. “What do you want to show me, Travis?” My voice was breathy, which was not what I wanted at all, but it was beyond my control.

  The smile came back. “Just some places in the woods. Kait felt that you are going to be safe for the time being, at least until you meet with the Svikari, so we are going hiking after training.

  “Sweet! I could do with some time away from here. I am getting cabin fever!” I was finally able to focus on more than just my libido. That is, until I glanced at Travis. His eyes were on my face, the heat still there. He winked. The bastard was perfectly aware of what he was doing to me. Damn it!

  We finished breakfast and cleaned up in silence. Travis kissed my cheek and said he would be right back, as he left the room. I wandered around the house a bit while I was waiting for him, looking at all the pictures of him and David when they were younger. In the earlier pictures, David looked surly, most often scowling at the camera. It wasn’t until later that he was smiling.

  When Travis came back in, I asked, “I understand if you can’t tell me, but why is David and his mom in so many of these pictures? What happened to his dad?”

  Travis sighed. “He left when David was ten. David started developing powers, and apparently that was too much for his father. The bastard said some awful things to David before he left. That was another reason David spent so much time with us. In addition to needing to learn to control his powers, he needed a positive male role model. Kait was that for him for a long time. I think that’s one of the reasons he is having problems accepting a romantic relationship between the four of us.”

  “So, does he think of you as a brother?” I was playing with my hair as I thought about it.

  “He has said he does.”

  “Oh. That would be weird. The guy you think of as a father and the guy you think of as a brother both love the same woman you do. And she loves all three of them.”

  Travis startled me by swooping in and picking me up with a yell. “Do you mean that?”

  I was confused for a minute. “Mean what?” As I thought about what I just said, my heart about stopped. I had just about straight-up told Travis I love them. “Uhhhhh.” Travis's face dropped, and he set me on the ground as he started to step away. Fuck, now I’ve hurt him, again. I’m going to have to fess up. “Yes, Travis, I believe I do.”

  He whooped, before kissing me hard. I feebly pushed against his chest for a minute, but gave up quickly. After he had kissed me to within an inch of my life, he let up. He booped me on the nose and took my hand. “Come on. If Kait gets back and we haven’t started training yet, there will be hell to pay. And it doesn’t usually take him very long to find David when he does this.”

  “David has run off before?”

  “Yeah, he used to do it all the time as a kid. The last time was right after he got his driver’s license. I wouldn’t worry about it too much.”

  I did worry. A piece of me would die if he didn’t come back. We left the house, and slowly walked through the frigid air to the training grounds. When we arrived, I was still feeling a little melancholy from facing the idea that David may leave me. Leave us. I wasn’t paying attention, so when Travis tackled me to the ground, I had no idea why. Over his shoulder, I saw a massive eagle head. I strained around him, and saw a Griffin standing in the middle of the training ground, and it was looking at me like I was breakfast. I screamed as its massive, cruelly hooked beak came down towards my face.

  Chapter 7

  It stopped suddenly, cocked its head to the side and crooned. I was shaking and afraid to move. It cocked its head to the other side and trilled. Travis laughed as he pushed up off me. “She won’t hurt us. She is a guard animal for my father.” He reached out and stroked her head. She leaned into to his hand and trilled again. “She attacked because she doesn’t know you, but by protecting you, I’ve let her know you’re a trusted friend.”

  “Why didn’t your father let you know he was sending her? And, more importantly, can I pet her, too?” I was bouncing on my toes. This was awesome! Her head was a beautiful eagle, while her body resembled a lion. Her feathers were fine, and moved like the mane of the lion, seamlessly blending the two disparate parts into an awe-inspiring animal. She still scared me, especially with the way she was staring at me with her golden eyes, but the opportunity was too amazing to pass up. She lowered her head, and Travis nodded.

  “She is consenting to allow you to pet her. She understands us and is very intelligent, so be careful what you say.”

  I got up and slowly walked toward her with my hand out. She seemed to be impatient with me, and head-butted my hand, pushing it toward where her ears would be and leaning in as I scratched. Her eyes closed, and it sounded like she sighed.

  Travis laughed. “Sounds like you made a friend. She likes that. Let me see if I can figure
out why she’s here.” He ducked around her head and opened a pack that was strapped to her neck. I had completely missed it when her neck feathers were ruffled. Travis pulled a scroll out of the bag, unrolled it and started to read.

  The griffin was getting into the scratches now, moving her head with my hand. I was giggling while using two hands to vigorously digging into her feathers. She moved her head quickly, knocking me to the ground. Snorting, she folded her wings close to her back before laying down and rolling over to her back, sticking her legs up in the air. I crawled the short distance so I could reach her better and rubbed her belly. She crooned as I giggled some more .

  Travis's sigh had me looking up. “What?” I could tell by his expression that the news in the scroll wasn’t good, but the stressed look faded to a bemused one as he watched me pet the griffin. He shook his head, while laughing softly at me.

  “I have never seen that.” The griffin was batting at my hands with her giant cat-paws now. He shrugged. “Uh, the scroll says my father’s castle has been attacked and he requests that we stay here and let Cassy, that’s the griffin, protect us.”

  “I have to go to school!” I was pissed.

  Travis held up his hands. “We need to discuss this later with Kait and David. Let’s train for now.”

  I was muttering under my breath about people who think they can order me around as I got up. Pointing my finger at him, I said, “This discussion isn’t over.” The griffin got up and moved to the edge of the clearing where she could see us but not be in the way.

  He sighed. “I didn’t think it was.”

  I ignored him, reminding myself that I really didn’t want to kill him. He only had my well-being in mind. I sighed as I set myself. “Are you ready?” Travis may not be able to read my mind, but he could obviously read my mood, as he hesitated a second before nodding. I was going to have to be careful not to take my frustration out on him as we trained.

  I attacked, going for his feet, attempting to freeze them to the ground. He dodged and used his air powers to fly just above the ground. He threw debris at me, which I blocked with a wall of ice. As we circled each other, I contemplated how I should attack. I thought about the electric powers, but I hadn’t been able to manage much more than a bolt or two. I needed to distract him so I could attack from behind. There was a fallen tree behind him that I could use as a ramp. I started gathering the water to solidify. I stifled a laugh. I knew how to distract Travis. The question was if I had the balls to do it.

  I cleared my throat, hoped that my face wasn’t turning red. “So, Travis, I really enjoyed our kiss. I can’t wait for the next one.”

  The whirlwind that was coming at me faltered for a second before straightening. He took a deep breath. “Babe, don’t play like that.”

  I bit my lip, which caused his eyes to drop to my lips, and the whirlwind died out. My voice came out even breathier than I intended when I said, “How would you like me to play? What else would you like to do to me, Travis?” His eyes slowly closed, so I rushed around him to get to the ramp I had manifested behind him. I ran up it and jumped toward him, trying to hit him in the head. At the last second, he spun and caught me in mid-air, crushing me against his body as he took my mouth. This was not what I was going for, but I would take it. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my legs around his waist and bit his lip.

  He walked us to the nearest tree, where he leaned me up against it as his hand made its way under my jacket and shirt to find my nipple. I gasped as he rolled it in his fingers, and unconsciously my hips moved against him. His breathing was ragged as he fumbled with the button on my pants. The cold air on my belly was a wake-up call.

  “Travis. Stop. I need you to stop.” There was no force to my words, and the breathiness made it sound like I was in a porn. But Travis stopped. His hand was frozen on my button, and his eyes were glued to mine. “It’s not that I don’t want this, but not here.”

  He rested his forehead on mine. “I understand. I don’t like it, but I understand.” He trailed kisses down the side of my neck.

  “Travis! Put me down! We need to train!” He chuckled darkly as he did as I asked.

  “That, sweetheart, was all your fault, so don’t act like it wasn’t.” He leaned in close and whispered in my ear, “And, tonight is my night in your bed.” Heat flashed through me, settling between my legs. Oh, shit. I hadn’t thought that through, and I hoped I was ready for what I had just awakened.

  I moved back to my starting position, but now I was the one distracted. Travis winked at me every time I looked at him and blew me kisses. Once he even pulled up his shirt as he scratched at a spot on his chest; I’m sure it was just to give me a view of his yummy abs. I couldn’t blame him, after all, I started it. By the time we called a halt, I was very uncomfortable with need. I couldn’t wait to get back to the safe house to strip him down.

  Cassy followed us as we slowly walked back to the house. Travis was rubbing his fingers lightly down my neck and arm as we walked back, which did nothing for the heat that was building between my legs. I was almost moaning when we got to the door. I glanced around. David and Kait weren’t back yet, and neither were Sarah or Janelle. It looked like it was just the two of us here. My eyes settled on Cassy. She wasn’t going to fit in the door.

  “Shit! Travis, where is Cassy going to stay? She won’t fit inside, but there isn’t a stable here, is there?”

  He laughed while he pulled me in closer. “Babe, she’s a guardian. She doesn’t need much sleep, so she doesn’t really need somewhere to stay. She will roam around outside and make sure nothing approaches. There’s not much that can beat a griffin.” He leaned in and kissed my neck. “So, nobody will bother us.” I gasped as his words caused even more heat between my legs. Unconsciously, I pressed up against him. He put his knee between my legs, and my hips moved against it. He chuckled and leaned in to whisper in my ear. “Do I need to take you in and help you with something? You seem uncomfortable. Did you start something that I need to finish?”

  Oh my God! I was melting. I couldn’t seem to respond to him. My head nodded on its own, and I licked my lips. His brilliant blue eyes, that almost seemed to be glowing, went to my lips, and his pupils dilated. He reached behind himself and opened the door. In a quick movement that I wasn’t expecting, he picked me up, and carried me inside, shutting the front door behind us with his foot. He carried me into his bedroom to set me on the bed. He took off his coat and his shirt and stood there, looking at me.

  “Take off your coat.” He was using a voice like Kait’s authoritative one, and it caused delicious shivers to go through me. I followed his order. A small smile ticked up the corner of his mouth. “Take off your shirt.” I did. “Take off your pants.” Oh, this was causing the heat to build even more. Who would have known that he wouldn’t even have to touch me to get me to this point? I felt like I was going to combust if he even kissed me. I turned my back to him, and slowly worked my pants down my legs, wiggling my butt at him as I did. He cleared his throat. His deep voice was husky as he said, “Sit on the bed, legs open.” I didn’t understand; I still had my bra and underwear on. They didn’t match either, which was not hot. But the way he was looking at me, now, that was hot. It was like I was the only thing in the world that mattered to him. His eyes roamed up and down my body. I couldn’t catch my breath. He slowly walked toward me, and then knelt in front of me.

  His hands roamed over the outside of my thighs as his mouth found mine. He deepened the kiss and his fingers trailed over my legs, working their way closer to the junction. I gasped as a finger lightly pressed on that most important little bundle of nerves. He chuckled and ducked down. Before I knew what happened, he had pushed my panties out of his way, and his mouth was on me. Stars flashed behind my eyes as he sucked and nibbled. He gently inserted his finger, and began to thrust, and my hips moved with him. My hands tangled in his hair. It wasn’t very long before I was exploding, calling out his name as I did.

  He chuckled as he
pulled back. My hands were still in his hair, so I used them to haul him back up to my face to where I could kiss him. One hand disentangled from his hair, and now I worked my way down his body. I slipped my hand into his pants and cupped his hard groin in my hand as I rubbed with my palm through his boxer briefs. He groaned against my mouth, so I did it again. His finger was still inside me and he began to move it again as his hips pushed against my hand. We both increased the tempo and the pressure, until his head was thrown back and he groaned out my name. I followed him right after, the sight of his pleasure sending me over the edge. He slowly withdrew, then took my hand, and brought it to his mouth, kissing it.

  “I love you, Evalia.” His eyes were on the floor as the words slipped from his mouth. I was stunned and didn’t know what to say. A second ticked by, and another, and his eyes came up to mine.

  My mouth opened and closed. “Travis, I…” Oh, for fucks sake. Just say it already, Evalia! You’ve already admitted it to him, spit it out! “Travis, I love you too.” He pulled me into a crushing hug, and then a hard kiss. I wanted to get to know him, in more than just this way, and the curiosity over what he had planned was now eating at my brain. I feebly pushed at him. He let up a little. “Weren’t we going to do something else today?”

  He chuckled as he traced my nipple through my bra. “Aren’t you enjoying this?”

  I gasped as I tried to focus my brain. “Yes, but, OH, Travis. Travis, stop.” He lifted his head with a wicked grin from where he had been sucking on my nipple through my bra.

  “What? You don’t like what I’m doing?”

  “It’s not that, but didn’t you have something else you wanted to do to, I mean, with me today?” My face heated at the slip I had made.

  “I was going to show you more places in the woods, but I like this better. Let’s just stay inside.” He tried to duck his head back to my nipple, but I pulled him back up by his hair. He grinned at me.