Deer Heart [Shifter Crossroads 3] (6 page)

He laughed. “And give me a forest, but this is as good as we can do here.”

Venny looked at him. “How do we do this?” He wrapped her in his arms and propped his chin on her shoulder as they gazed out at the water. “Do what?”

“Start living together. I know how it works in the herd, but I am not sure how to join lives with a wolf.”

He chuckled and kissed her neck. “I am glad you kept the hesitation stifled until now. Will you let me lead and you follow?”

She snorted and leaned her head to one side, letting him sweep her hair out of the way to give him full access to her skin. “I don’t know. I am not much for following. How about you lead and I stand next to you asking,
Are we there yet?
” Athon laughed and turned her in his arms.

“Deal. You, my dear mate, are wearing too many clothes.”

Venny yelped as he lifted her and carried her into his bedroom. She was wearing the dress she was contracted in. “That is a matter for debate. Up north, this is lingerie.”

He slipped off her shoes and caressed her feet, rubbed his thumbs across her ankles and made his way up her legs. Her skirt was pushed up as his hands moved up her thighs.

As he leaned in toward the heat of her sex, she got nervous. “Um, shouldn’t we be doing something else?”

He shook his head. “I was rather remiss earlier. It is my duty and pleasure to know every taste, scent and texture your body has to offer.” She licked her lips nervously, “Right now?” Athon nuzzled at the inside of her thigh. “I can’t think of a better time. You will be in full heat in a few hours. There is time to enjoy what we can offer each other before instinct takes over.” His logic was irrefutable and the slick lapping of his tongue against her skin was most convincing. She braced herself to watch and shivered as he pushed her skirt up past her hips.

The first heated touch of his mouth on her sex made her moan. Watching his dark head moving slightly to get a better angle on her had her shifting her thighs to open to him.

He pulled back, and she was disappointed until he lifted her legs to drape over his shoulders. With her settled, he dove back in to taste her, and she dropped to her back, moaning as he lapped and sucked at her flesh with a savagery that sent an answering surge of fire through her blood.

His tongue burrowed inside her, drinking the liquid pleasure that her body was offering for his efforts.

Venny moaned, groaned and with every muscle in her body clenching at the same time, her body rocked in a release driven strictly by the mouth of her mate.

Dimly, she felt Athon tugging at her dress, but when she could think again, he was behind her, stroking his hands over her body, cupping her breasts and caressing the slick folds of her sex.

Athon pressed his mouth to her neck, and he set his teeth at the base where her shoulder began.

Venny fought the deep shudder that ran through her before she realised that there was no point in fighting it. He was her mate now. He had earned her honest reactions to his touch.

His erection was pressing against her ass, and she rocked her hips against him, teasing him.

His teeth gripped tighter as he seated his cock in her. His fangs shot out, and he thrust into her in the same moment.

She hissed, grunted and gasped as he started to move inside her with no restriction.

Venny moaned, gripped his thighs as he pumped into her. She inhaled sharply when he rolled her to her belly and resumed thrusting with power and speed.

She clawed at the sheet under her, pushing up against him before he pressed her back to the bed.

His Alpha nature was coming out, and she was a little conflicted as to how she felt about it.

She muffled her shriek as her orgasm struck with a rush of energy that tingled her fingers and heated her toes. It went on and on as Athon continued pounding into her with sharp slaps of skin on skin.

Venny felt his heated breath on her neck a moment before he bit down on the other side of her neck, and his howling groan echoed in the room as his cock flexed and jetted into her. He released her with a jerk just as she was feeling the swelling at the base of his cock again.

She twisted to give him a rueful glance. “That was close.”

His eyes were the crystal shade that he wore as a wolf. His cock was shining and swollen at the base. As she watched, it started to relax.

He sighed heavily and leaned down to kiss her.

“You have no idea how tempting it was to stay inside you.”

She finished flipping to her side, and she casually tried to close her legs and sit up. Her limbs were shaking, but she managed it. “You had better feed me before you plan on getting stuck again.”

H
er heat hit hard and blurred time. When she finally came back to herself, it was two days later and she was
sore.
She wore the thick blue silk robe that he had offered her, and though it was too long, it helped her return to the confines of her body.

Athon looked a little worse for wear as well.

His stride was slower, and he wore a grey silk robe rather than put normal clothing on. They were sitting out on the balcony attached to the bedroom and having coffee. Athon was staring at her with a rapt expression. “Can I take your picture?”

She was still dazed but she asked, “What?”

“You look amazing right now. Your eyes are bright, your hair is crystal white and your skin looks like pearl. I want to capture that image.” She blushed. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

He finished his coffee and walked back inside.

“Humour me. I have this in my mind now, and I want to see what a camera does to your skin.” She frowned and sat while there was a banging noise from inside the apartment. She sipped her coffee and watched the ships as they moved through the grey-blue water.

They had an appointment for dinner with the area Alpha but that was hours away.

Venny finished what was in her cup, and she went inside, washing the mug and setting it on the draining board.

Athon emerged from his studio and grabbed her hand. “Come on.”

The backdrop was a stormy blue, the same colour as the sky the day they arrived. Athon bullied her into sitting with her legs twisted to one side, looking back over her shoulder at the camera.

He started clicking, and two hours of posing, licking her lips and tousling her hair later, she was aching and he was pleased. He hauled her to her feet and kissed her. “You are lovely, beautiful, stunning and mine. Your colouration makes you unique, and your soul makes others see it.” She chuckled. “If you had wanted to get weird with any of those images, you would have seen how my soul was feeling about it.”

“I don’t need the world to see you naked, they just need to see you.” He caressed her cheek.

She grimaced. “I don’t know what I would do when they stopped staring and actually spoke to me.”

“Let me stand with you as you find out. I am guessing it will be spectacular.” She sighed and leaned against his chest. “Don’t pin all your hopes on me.”

“You pinned yours on me to get you through your heat. Now for some
quid pro quo
.” He held her and ran his hands up and down her spine.

“We will grow into this union. Nothing will happen overnight.”

She smiled up at him with watery eyes. “I usually shove things into place.” He laughed. “You can shove all you want, I am not moving.”

They got dressed. The fabric seemed harsh on skin only used to the touch of their lover.

Venny picked a long skirt and a wrap top that she had picked up at the Crossroads. Her heels elevated her until she was six feet tall, and Athon looked at her ruefully. “You aren’t wearing underwear, are you?”

She shrugged. “I am wearing a bra. This shirt requires it. As for anything else, I am not telling.” He sighed and asked, “Do you have a jacket?”

“Not one that matches this shirt. You will simply have to keep me warm.”

Athon laughed and put his arm around her waist as they exited the apartment. It was time to meet her in-laws.

Apollo Wells and his wife, Henrietta, were both pleased to see her, if a little apprehensive about eating with a deer.

A shifter ran the restaurant. Venny could smell the magic.

“So, Venezia, what do you do for a living? Athon didn’t say.” Henrietta was trying to make small talk while the men spoke in low tones.

“I am a bush pilot. I fly supplies and personnel to and from the northern reaches inaccessible by ground.” She nibbled at the roll she had placed on her plate. It was nice, fluffy and still warm. She missed baking while she was making the rounds.

“Oh. Do you do that a lot?” Henrietta blinked but there was something behind her eyes.

“What are you actually asking?” Henrietta leaned forward and whispered, “Do you think you can bring Athon back more frequently? My mate would never say it, but he misses him, and your mating has removed Athon from the pack succession, so he can stay here now if he likes.”

Stay here. Stay in a city crowded against the ocean where the mountains loomed and the open fields and icy meadows would be a thing of the past. “I am sure I can mention it.” She sat quietly, her appetite gone. Living in a city had never been in her plans.

She looked at Athon when she heard him say, “I am planning an exhibition here in four months.”

Apollo raised a brow. “What is your subject matter? You usually work along a theme.” Athon raised his glass of wine. “My theme is Venezia, in both her forms. We are heading north tomorrow, and thanks to her skills, she can get me to parts of the wild I have never been able to manage before.”

Venny felt a blush creeping up her throat and heading for her hairline. “Me?” He lifted her hand and kissed her inner wrist where her pulse was hammering a thousand times a minute. “You. The digitals that I scanned in before we left are amazing. You are incredibly photogenic.”

Apollo ignored the byplay and asked, “So, sister. What do you think of Athon?”

“I think he takes some getting used to. It’s a good thing I am a patient woman.” She smiled.

“Why did you turn to the Crossroads for a mate? Are you defective?” Apollo was going on the attack.

“No more so than your brother. I am just an albino reindeer. It appears that jackass runs in his family.” She kept her face calm, but she was furious at the idea that she was unworthy.

Apollo sat with his mouth opening and closing while Athon sat and laughed his ass off.

A few other tables looked over at them, but Apollo was fighting to be furious. When Venny didn’t look away, he let the wolf trickle into his gaze.

Venny called her reindeer and let it stare down the predator. He growled, and she snorted through her nose. Her fingers tapped on the table in warning.

Dimly, she could hear Henrietta whisper, “What is she doing?”

Athon answered, “Being the woman I chose and the one that chose me. She isn’t going to back down, and she is way bigger than Apollo is counting on if she shifts in here.” Apollo finally inclined his head in stalemate.

She smiled and did the same. It wasn’t the easiest meeting of in-laws, but it wasn’t a disaster by any stretch of the imagination.

Four months later

V
enny stood with a glass of white wine and tried not to look at the images of herself all over the walls. While she wasn’t nude in any of the images, she had never felt more naked.

Apollo and his entire pack were here, and she could tell which of the folk in the gallery were wolves, they were the ones staring at the image of an albino reindeer nose-to-nose and far larger than the black and silver wolf it was standing with.

The couple’s shots had taken a lot of stamina on Athon’s part. He had to have her stand, get the frame set and then shift and meet her in time for the camera to click. Half the time, the camera had frozen or he had gotten irritated with the wait.

Athon grabbed her arm and hauled her to the beginning of the exhibition. He called it
Black and
White.

It was egotistical of him to take self-portraits, but having them sitting in a yin-yang configuration, their human bodies draped in matching silks, was quite a striking image.

The image of her lying, with artfully draped silk covering breasts and hips, was particularly striking. She was looking at the camera with lazy sensuality and fire in her eyes.

“You do realise that it isn’t comfortable for me to have people looking at me like this.” He wrapped his arm around her and hugged her. “I know. But it was important to show them.” She blinked and suddenly realised that this was the only way he could show his pack what she was and what she meant to him. She swallowed a lump in her throat.

The images of the black wolf cavorting with the reindeer and her horned form backlit against a sunset were powerful. Interspersed with her were images of black bears, snowy owls gliding across the landscape and just enough other animals to make the reindeer seem like something that could occur in nature.

Apollo and Henrietta came up to them. “Athon, this is a very impressive collection.” Athon inclined his head. “I had an inspiring subject.”

Henrietta took Venny by the hand and led her through the gallery. “Apollo wasn’t sure what he was going to see tonight, but I am glad we came. You are really impressive.”

Venny laughed. “Thank you, but that is an accident of birth as much as my colouring is.” A voice sneered, “And that colouring can be found at any salon supply shop. I don’t know why he had to get a freak for a mate.” Venny paused, and Henrietta was furious.

“Leah. What are you doing here? This was invitation only.”

Venny turned to face the sneering woman and saw a female with the colouring and pinched features of a shape-shifting vixen. The woman was literally a fox.

The fox backed up as Venny looked at her. “We have not been introduced.”

She extended her hand to the stranger, and the fox had no choice, she met the handshake and tried to regain her attitude.

Henrietta made reluctant introductions.

“Venezia, this is Leah. Leah, this is Venezia Wells. My sister-in-law. Venny, Leah used to date Athon.”