Westmore Wolves Series: Shapesifter Collection Bks 1-5 Page 19

  Wait.

  She was falling. And the pictures sliding across her mind’s eye were so rapid, she almost didn’t catch them all.

  Dragons. And fire. And buildings burning, relentless flames that would not cease. And Sage. She was crying and a man she’d never seen coming for her with a knife. Then she was falling again and she saw Seth arguing with three women as they wove the image that was to be her fate.

  And her. With Dante. Fire and ice merging to be one as he took her as mate. Her insides hummed with happiness that she was wanted. Needed. Loved. A future with him filled with children and laughter. It was too much all at once…and not enough. She’d tasted his energy and wanted more, never to let go again. Her mate.

  Hers.

  Fae didn’t mate. Not exactly. According to her mother anyway. But dragons did and from the first moment his eyes locked with hers she’d felt a pull.

  First…the fire. She had to warn them. The arsonist’s face loomed against the backdrop of her mind and she gasped at the hatred seated behind his eyes. Eyes that saw her watching him.

  She had to stop him. She had to…

  But he…no.

  Dante. The last frightening vision sent her spiraling over the edge.

  He caught her, his arms wrapping around her, crushing her to his muscular body as darkness pulled her down.

  ***

  Seth watched Violet react to the dragon shifter’s touch, his stomach clenching in knots. He wasn’t supposed to interfere, but here he was in the thick of it. Again.

  Violet crumpled in the other man’s arms and Sage let out a surprised hiss as the shifter lowered her to the ground.

  “Violet!” Sage knelt down beside her, running her hand along the other woman’s face. “Honey? Violet?”

  “She can’t hear you.” Seth spoke up before he could stop himself. He stood up quickly and hurried forward from the table, his mind pushing at Violet to respond.

  Come on, princess. Talk to me. What happened?

  But he already knew. The Fates and their twisted logic had given her a vision so strong it had knocked the wind right out of her. He hefted her up from the floor and cradled her in his arms, opening her eyes to make sure she was still with them.

  She was.

  Seth let out a relieved breath conscious of the eyes on him.

  Her lids remained closed but, he turned to find the dragon shifter observing him with rage in his eyes.

  “Who the fuck are you?”

  Chapter Six

  Dante scrutinized the winged man bent over his mate and wanted to rip the feathers off him one by one. He was touching her. Like the bastard had a right to.

  Hell.

  His dragon shifted under his skin, the fire skimming just beneath the surface. He wanted to claim his woman, instead he had to watch as she collapsed in front of him. And this guy seemed like he knew what was going on. That only pissed him off more.

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “I’m Seth. Her…guardian angel. Of sorts.” The man met his eyes and bent down to smooth some hair out of Violet’s eyes.

  “What?”

  Why would Violet need a guardian angel?

  A myriad of emotions flickered across the other man’s face.

  “Can you help me get her to her apartment?”

  “Yes.”

  He would do anything to help this woman. Anything at all if she would look at him with those molten eyes one more time. He’d spend the rest of his life making her happy. That was what mates did. And this guy needed to remove his hands. Now.

  Sage sat back on her heels, concern written across her features. “You sure you boys have this?”

  Dante swept Violet up in his arms, pushing the angel out of the way. He nodded to Sage. “I’ve got her.”

  “Fine.” Seth grumbled, dusting off his pants and raking a hand through his messy blond hair.

  “Where does she live?” He looked at Sage, but it was the angel that answered.

  “I’ll take you.”

  “You?” Dante snorted, his eyes narrowing. “Why do you know where she lives?”

  “Like I said. Guardian angel.” Seth frowned and turned to Sage.

  “She’ll be back tomorrow. Please forgive the interruption.” Seth’s eyes traveled to Mel at the register and she sent the angel a disgusted look.

  Interesting.

  Reggie kept his distance, observing the people in the dining area and talking to the ever growing clutch of women clamoring to feel up a firefighter. No one seemed to notice anything out of place.

  He had to admit that was fucking cool.

  “They can’t see what’s happening, can they?” Dante looked at the angel with a new and somewhat grudging respect. The winged bastard had saved him from a fate worse than death.

  He shook his head. “No. I thought it better that way.”

  “What now?”

  “I’m going to grab onto your shoulder. We’re about to take a short cut.”

  “What?”

  “Just do it, Dante. It’ll be over soon.” Mel winked at him from where she stood at the counter, one of the other girls stepping in to take over where Violet left off.

  What was going on? Now the demon girl was in collusion with the angel?

  “Fine.”

  One moment he was standing in the café and the next in a small apartment. The angel let go of the angel and stepped back.

  “Here. Let’s put her into bed.” Seth led the way down a short hallway from the living room to the bedroom.

  He laid Violet down carefully on top of the covers, missing her weight in his arms.

  The angel smoothed a strand of hair from her face and glanced up at Dante.

  His dragon railed at the other man touching his mate, but he wasn’t sure what hold he had on her. “Is she yours?” He needed to know.

  “Yes and no.” The angel smiled sadly. “I brought her here to find her path and her mate. Now she has.”

  Dante watched her still form. “What happened?”

  “I’ll let her be the one to tell you. For now, I have to go. There are some developments the Fates need to be made aware of.”

  “Wait. Fates?”

  “A long story for another time. Tend to her, Dante. She needs you.”

  The angel departed in the blink of an eye, leaving him alone with Violet. They had only just met, but he had already memorized the graceful lines of her face and the steady sound of her breathing. His dragon rumbled, content to be here guarding their mate.

  Theirs.

  He closed his eyes and absorbed her scent. Dante opened his eyes and found her watching him, a curious expression on her face.

  “You. From the café.”

  “Me.” He replied, staring into her purple eyes. His skin felt tight and he wanted to wrap himself around her and never let her go.

  “I…knew you. The moment I saw you. It was so strange.”

  He ran his hand down her arm his fingers trailing along her flesh. “You're beautiful.”

  “I saw you in the water, you...” She closed her eyes and swallowed. “You made me hope again. Feel something. Thank you.”

  “Anything”

  She laughed, a bitter sound to his ears. “You say that like you know me.”

  “I do.”

  “No.” She scooted up in the bed and leveled him with a stare. “You don’t. Not yet. I feel the pull to you. I want you. But first you have to know who I am.”

  “You’re my mate. That’s who you are.”

  “I’m just an ordinary girl who wasn’t enough for anyone in my life. Seth gave me a chance at a new start.”

  “The angel.”

  “Yes.”

  Dante pulled her closer and lowered his lips to hers. “This is who you are. You’re mine. Ours.” He let his dragon shine in his eyes and listened to the sound of her heart speeding up in her chest.

  Violet moaned as he tugged her beneath him, settling his erection between her thighs. He slid his
hands down the sides of her body, moving her legs further apart so she could feel him nestled there, only the thin layers of their clothes separating their need.

  His hand slid beneath her tee shirt and she cringed, her eyes flying open.

  “What is it?”

  “I’m not thin. Not perfect like the women you’re used to.”

  Annoyance cut through him. And anger.

  “No.” He pressed a kiss to her lips and pulled the shirt up and over her head, tossing it to the floor. Her full breasts heaved, cradled in the lacy confines of the bra she wore. Dante went for the snap to her jeans next. Then the zipper.

  “Wait.” She tried to stop him, fear in her eyes. “I don’t…”

  “You don’t what?”

  “Want you to be disappointed.” Her reply was so soft he almost didn’t hear her.

  What? The? Fuck?

  Disappointed?

  The woman splayed out in front of him was a lush and curvy goddess. All he could think about was burying his cock between her legs and listening her come, the sound of his name moaning from her lips.

  He unzipped her and the scent of her arousal nearly undid him. Tugging her jeans off, he went for her panties and bra next, leaving her panting and breathless beneath him.

  “I never want to hear you talk about yourself like that again.” Dante lowered his lips to the soft flesh of her stomach and kissed it, the soft intake of her breath let him know she was paying attention.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to claim my mate. In every way possible.”

  She tried to tug at the blanket resting to the side of her.

  “No. I want to see you. Every inch of your gorgeous body.” He kissed her again, moving lower till he was just above her mound. She tried to close her thighs.

  “But…”

  “No.” He moved quickly, enveloping the tip of one of her breasts between his lips. Dante began to suck and nibble from one to the other, smiling as the rosy peaks hardened into stiff points of desire.

  This was only the beginning and before he was done, she would be his.

  ***

  Violet writhed beneath Dante as he lavished her breasts with attention. His kisses were masterful, urging responses from her body that she’d never felt before. His fingers explored every inch of her, finally settling on her upper thigh.

  With a devilish smile, he kissed his way down her tummy and placed one where the line of her panties had been only moments before.

  Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.

  Her mate moved lower and his tongue darted out to lick along the outside of her pussy lips.

  “I need you to move your legs apart a little bit more, sweetheart.”

  She did and he was inside her, his hot tongue blazing trails along her nether bits like no one had ever done before him.

  Magic and lust sizzled in her veins and she wanted to cry out in frustration. She just met the man and already she was in bed getting the horizontal workout of her life.

  His fingers reached up and cupped her breast, playing with her nipples as he sucked and licked her tender folds. He pushed her over the edge until he had her dangling over the precipice, then he tweaked her clit, sending her crying out, her body flying. She bucked against him, calling out his name as her body clenched and grasped for more. A burst of power slipped from her and she could swear she heard the sound of ice hitting the wall.

  Oh, well. It would keep.

  He moved quickly, unzipping his jeans and divesting himself of his clothes. One moment he was dressed and the next he was naked and kneeling between her thighs, his cock poised at her entrance.

  “Do you want me, Violet? Do you want me to fill you and fuck you and make you mine?”

  Her mouth dropped open and she nodded, her body still rolling through the aftershocks of her first orgasm. She looked down at his erect member and her belly fluttered. He was huge. From her vantage point it appeared like their bodies were already joined and she realized there was nothing in this life she wanted more.

  Him.

  Dante was hers, the desire in his eyes real. Not like the relationship she had with Joseph. The second the name flitted across her mind she booted it out, only wanting one man in her bed. Ever again. This man who wanted her the way she was. Not ten pounds lighter. Or more powerful. Or anything else. He just wanted the woman in front of him and that made her hotter than hell.

  “I need you to say it, baby.” Dante lifted her leg and pressed the blunt head of him against her pussy, teasing her.

  “Yes!”

  “Good.” He moved, lowering his face to her pussy and she cried out as he blew against her flesh, teasing and provoking her.

  “Dante! Please!”

  If he didn’t fuck her now, she was going to fall apart. Violet moved her hips, urging him forward and he slid inside of her in one thrust all the way to the hilt.

  Dante stretched and filled her like no one had ever done. There was no room for the heartbreak of her past life when he began to move, coaxing the joy from all the secret places in her heart. He played her body, moving in and out of her gently at first, then in more powerful strokes that left her panting, her nails digging in to his ass.

  “Harder.”

  “Mmmm.” He grinned down at her and drew out. “On your knees.”

  “What?” She came back to herself, missing him.

  “Here.” He helped her up and she flipped over, climbing back onto her knees.

  “Now hold on.” Dante chuckled darkly and kissed her down the center of her back, lightly biting her left hip.

  “Hey!” She peered back at him and wiggled her ass at him.

  “Hey yourself.” He watched her with hooded eyes, his lips parting as he stroked his cock. Moisture flooded her pussy as her gaze raked over him, the tip of his cock pearling with the evidence of his own passion.

  “I want you. Take me.”

  Dante, make me yours. I need you.

  The thought rolled through her mind and she hoped to heck Seth wasn’t listening. Then she decided she didn’t care. Would serve him right. Her mother had always told her that winter fae didn’t mate. They just found their life partner and that was that. But this…this feeling that consumed her was more than just an idle whim. This was chemistry and so much more. She wanted this man for the kindness in his eyes and the care he took with her in his arms.

  Tears gathered in her eyes. Happy ones and when Dante surged forward, the smooth tip of his cock sliding inside of her slick channel, she cried out in abandon.

  His hands were all over her. He fucked her body and stroked her flesh, from the hardened points of her breasts to her swollen clit, bringing her to climax again and again. Her pussy spasmed over his cock and he groaned, shuddering as he found his own release. He cried out, biting into the flesh of her shoulder as he filled her womb with his seed.

  “Mine.” He wrapped his arms around her as she swayed beneath him.

  She was marked and mated and, for the first time in forever, she sank into a dreamless sleep with Dante beside her secure in the knowledge that he would be here when she woke.

  Chapter Seven

  Dante moved through the common room of the firehouse, his mind lost in the curves of his new mate. He hated to leave her but duty called. They woke, each still shy from the new bond they’d just forged, both needing to go to their respective jobs. He donned his Turnout coat and grabbed his hat, making it to the truck with barely enough time to spare.

  “Good of you to join us tonight.” Carter grinned.

  “Yeah…”

  “He was a regular ladies man. One even fainted on him.” Reggie winked.

  “Oh?”

  “Yup.”

  Dante growled, but as the engine rounded the corner and he saw the blaze in the distance, all thoughts of pummeling the shit out of the puppy fled. A residential neighborhood just like any of dozens in Westmore sat ablaze, families huddled in the middle of the street watching their lives
all but burn up in front of them.

  “Come on, boys. We have some people to save.” Dante leapt from the engine as soon as it stopped, his dragon sliding beneath his skin. It was time to kick some ass and he was ready.

  ***

  Violet slid her apron on and let herself fall into the rhythm of the café. Her mind was in a whirl, something was off today. Mel came up next to her.

  “Have you seen Sage anywhere?”

  “No, I haven’t. I mean she was here earlier, but she had to go out.” Mel handed a customer a bagged pastry.

  “Oh.”

  “How’re you doing? After yesterday with Seth and Dante? And on your first day too.” Mel sighed.

  “It just came on so fast. The vision. Dante. All of it.”

  “Do you get them often?”

  “Sometimes.”

  Mel turned to the customer in front of her and took her order. She passed it to Violet to start making the drink.

  “Well, you picked a good place to be for odd talents.” Mel gave her a quirky grin.

  She heard the woman in the kitchen singing and smiled. “I guess so.”

  “Just let me know if you need anything. And congrats on Dante. There’s a lot of ladies around here who are going to be drowning their sorrows at the bar tonight, let me tell you.”

  Violet felt a blush creep over her face. “I will. And thanks.”

  Her thoughts drifted to the powerful man who had claimed her for his own and a wave of heat infused her face, and she was certain the tips of her ears had to be just as red as the rest of her.

  “Dante’s a good man. I’m glad Seth managed to put you two together.” Mel snagged a chocolate chunk cookie from the case and slid it into a bag for the customer, laying it on the counter.

  Violet frothed the milk and pulled the shot, adding in chocolate and a flourish of whip cream and a lid. “Here you go!”

  The customer scooped up her goodies and headed off to a corner table, book in hand.

  “That sounds fun right now,” Mel sighed.

  A ribbon of images began in her head and Violet sucked in a breath. Sage crying out as a man bound her to a chair. Fire. Flames licking along the floor of a warehouse.