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"I don't want gentle. Take me here. Now. Forwards, backwards, any way you want," I whispered. Ready to explode, I shivered as his eyes glinted with a primal hunger.
"Let's see how far you're willing to go," he said, and he was on me, grabbing my wrist as he fastened his mouth on mine. I fell into his kiss, melting in the raging fire that roared to life between us. He braced my shoulders, encircled my waist to pull me tight against him.
I struggled with my dress, but Morio slapped my hand away and pushed me to the ground, shoving my skirt up as he yanked down his zipper. He tore open my shirt and sought my breasts, covering me with love bites that only fueled my need. As his dark eyes slanted dangerously, I felt myself being swept under by the wave of passion rolling through the meadow.
And then Morio was ready, and I opened myself to him, sinking into the rich loam of the earth as he drove deep within me, thrusting with long, powerful strokes. I yielded to him, to the music, to my own need. All the pretense and reserve of the fox demon disappeared then, and his eyes gleamed as he threw back his head and let out a yip of victory.
The music grew louder, and Morio smiled then, his teeth sharp and needlelike as his fingernails extended into claws. He nipped at my shoulder, and a glimmer of fear raced through me as it filtered through my sex-addled brain as to just how alien he was. Fae? In a sense, but earthbound and connected to the primal energy that permeated the world.
Suddenly frantic and wondering what had gotten into me, I began to struggle, but the more I squirmed, the harder he got. As I fought to free myself, a backlash of energy hit me, and I surrendered, soaring higher than Trillian had ever taken me. I hovered, unable to breathe, wondering just who and what I was, and the scent of rain-drenched roses washed over me as I slowly sank back into my body, touching down with a sense of power that I hadn't felt in a long time. Immediately, I wanted more. Morio must have felt the increased desire, too, because he panted raggedly in my ear.
"Stop," he said, his voice cracking. "We have to stop now—this is a glamour, and it's a dangerous one." He forced himself to roll away, struggling to keep his hands off me. "Get away from the mound, get out of the ring of toadstools."
Startled by his angry bark, I scrambled to my feet.
He leapt up, eyes blazing. "I said run—now!"
And I ran. I raced toward the ring of cedars. The moment my feet passed the edge of the toadstool circle I felt as though I'd ripped myself out of some hedonistic womb. Stumbling to a halt, I dropped to my knees, my head pounding like somebody had taken a sledgehammer to it. My body had taken a pounding, too, but of quite another kind. As the world swirled around me, I sucked in several ragged, deep breaths, and reality slowly fell back into place.
"What the hell?" I mumbled.
From where I was, I could see Morio chasing Delilah. He suddenly vanished, and a mouse appeared where he'd been standing. Delilah flicked her tail and began stalking the rodent, paws slowly inching forward, whiskers twitching. As she pounced, the illusion broke, and Morio appeared, grabbing her by the scruff of the neck. He jogged back to my side.
The moment he crossed the toadstool ring, Delilah began to shimmer, and he set her on the ground a few feet away, toward the cedar grove. As she shifted back, the surprise on her face made me want to laugh. Almost. Whoever had put up this barrier had done a damned good job of it.
"Okay, what just happened?" Still flushed, I accepted Morio's hand, and he pulled me to my feet. As his fingers met mine, we sparked, and I realized that we had managed to tangle ourselves together all too tightly. We'd play havoc trying to unknot this web, that much was certain. Especially since we'd been attracted to each other to begin with.
Morio held my gaze for a moment, then glanced back at the mound. "Sidhe magic, but different from yours. How many Sidhe stayed Earthside when Otherworld broke away and went into the mists?"
I shook my head. "It was so long ago, no one knows. There are a lot of nature spirits here, and a lot of Cryptos were left behind—or chose to stay. We're related, but it's been a long time since the initial divide. Do you think this is where Wisteria makes her home?"
He shook his head. "Since she works at the Wayfarer and is aligned with the OIA, chances are she probably has a tree somewhere near Seattle. No, this magic is too powerful for her. The music makes me think of Pan, but it's rumored that Old Shag has been staying close to home in Greece."
I took a step closer, and we locked eyes. Morio held out his arms, and I stepped into his embrace. He kissed me, long and slow, tender without the fury that had spurred us on earlier.
"We're going to have to discuss this later," I said. Thoughts of Trillian filled my mind, but even as I worried over his life, my body had a will of its own and I'd responded so strongly to the fox demon that it made me afraid. And I liked Morio. Trillian thrilled me to the core. I loved him and I hated him. But I really didn't like him. Whatever came out of this mix was going to be interesting, that was for sure.
"I know." Morio let out a long sigh. "But right now we need to focus on matters at hand and avoid being caught up by that whimsy spell again."
"Excuse me," Delilah piped up. "But what the hell are you two doing?"
I broke away from Morio and jerked my head toward the mound. "While you decided to take a kitten break, we ended up in a lip-lock that would hit a tripleX rating. Didn't you notice the nice layer of mud I decided to add to my outfit?" Unfortunately, that wasn't a joke. Thanks to Mr. Fox's wild ride, the back of my jacket and skirt were soaked with dew and mud and soggy leaves.
"I was wondering but was too polite to ask," Delilah said with a cough. "Uh-oh. I can't wait to see the fallout on this one," she said, a snarky grin creeping across her face. "Well, I'm just glad you guys caught me before I took off into the woods and got myself lost."
"Thanks, wild child. Back to the matter at hand. If this isn't Wisteria's doing, then whose? It's Sidhe magic, but linked to Earth, not to OW."
Morio knelt to examine the toadstools. "Camille's right. This is very powerful magic and dangerous to leave unattended."
With a frown, Delilah stared at the barrow. "Then the question is, how do we break the illusion? I want to know what's under there."
I studied the mound. "I can probably break through, but there's a very real chance that when my magic comes into contact with the barriers, I might cause some sort of an implosion. I'm not sure it's worth the risk. Maybe we can just go around it?"
Morio cocked his head to one side. "I can try to banish the force field, but I don't know if I'm strong enough. This isn't just illusion. What about if we try it together? Maybe I can deflect any misfire from your magic, Camille."
"Brave, aren't you?" I rubbed my backside. I'd really taken a pounding. Morio was stronger than I'd given him credit for. It was going to take a lot of stretching to work out the knots in my inner thighs. "You sure you want to chance it? If something goes wrong, I can't guarantee your safety."
He noticed my discomfort. "Need a little massage there to straighten out the kinks?" he said, winking. As I sputtered, he added, "Don't sweat it. I think I can protect myself from anything you can manage to botch up."
