STORY EXCERPT

Dineiro’s pouch was warm, making me feel safe in spite of our less than ideal circumstances. Alas, my earlier discovery had led us to run into a human slayer, which the dragon seemed to be attracted to. I suspected the slayer, Kirril, might be Dineiro’s mate, and I was happy for my friend. Sadly, because of this meeting, we’d ended up far away from the Laughing Forest, into the Forgotten Steppes.

Now, night had fallen, and we were at the mercy of the spirit hunters. I had to admit I was afraid. Pixies were beings of magic, and we were very vulnerable to such creatures. I trembled in Dineiro’s pouch, feeling small and stupid and helpless. My own powers helped me communicate with nature and defend myself from normal threats if need be, but they wouldn’t be enough this time.

Bunny-shifter Vesper reached for me, his paw gentle on my hand. He was larger than me, and we didn’t always get along, but in fact, we were great friends. “We’re going to be fine,” he whispered. “You’ll see.”

I doubted it a lot. The sun hadn’t set yet, and I couldn’t feel any tension in the air, but I knew it would happen. We were sitting ducks, well, sitting dragon, pixie, bunny, and magical horse. We’d made camp in the middle of the plains, together with the slayer and his mare, Magda, but I very much suspected they wouldn’t be able to help. Sweet Goddess, Kirril hadn’t even known about the spirit hunters’ existence.

At last, darkness started to set in, and I was proven right when the green plains around us disappeared, melting into a barren desert. I tried to bury myself as deep as I could in Dineiro’s pouch, but even it could not protect when the storm exploded around us.

It was… I couldn’t even come up with words to describe it. The chaos suddenly threatening to sweep us away sent wind, hail, thunder, and rain over us. The slayer attempted to hold his ground, but even his bulk couldn’t stop the power of nature, now wielded by the hunters.

I screamed as the wind began to pull Dineiro and Magda up into the air, but my voice was lost within the roar of the storm and the strange laughter around us. To his credit, Kirril abandoned the sword he’d been holding and reached for Magda’s reins and Dineiro’s paw. Sadly, the anger of the tempest was too intense. I tried to hold onto Dineiro, but it was to no avail. Both Vesper and I slid out of his pouch, as if stolen by an invisible hand.

The last thing I registered was the wild storm holding me in a strangely solid grip, and then the exhausting panic plunged me into darkness. I didn’t know how much time passed while I floated in the far more comfortable unconsciousness, but I began to stir when a strange sound reached my ears. It seemed like… a purr?

My eyes shot open, and the first thing I saw were two gold-green eyes looming in front of me. I screamed, and immediately fluttered away. My instincts caused me to emanate more pixie dust which I threw at my foe, all the while glowing brighter to confuse it.

The strange creature sneezed and recoiled slightly, and as we put some distance between the two of us, I realized the culprit behind my scare was a black cat. It looked huge to me, but it was probably a normal size for an animal its breed.

After a few seconds, the feline no longer seemed put out by my attack. It began to leisurely saunter toward me, with that elegant yet somehow threatening gait only a cat could pull off. I decided I wouldn’t let it scare me any longer and shot up straight into the air.

This proved to be a mistake as the cat leapt at me and with a well-aimed blow, sent me falling back on the… floor? No, it wasn’t a floor. Oh, Goddess. The hard surface I landed on seemed covered with a soft, embroidered fabric. There were candles, plates, and glasses somewhere to my right. I was on a table.

Because I’d gone way beyond fear at this point, I melted it into anger. I shot to my feet, hovering just over the table. “I won’t let you eat me,” I shouted at the cat. “And if you try, I’ll give you indigestion.”

That was obviously not a convincing threat in the cat’s eyes. It released a disturbingly human chuckle and grinned, which again, startled me. “You were right, Igor,” he said. “He amuses me.”

Igor? Who in the world was Igor? I got my unwanted reply to that question when a tall shadow loomed over me, practically drowning out what little light I got in this strange place. “Indeed,” Igor said, chuckling. “I daresay our friends truly outdid themselves this time.”

I felt a chill as I remembered what had happened to me and Vesper. “What did you do? Where is Perry? Where are my friends?”

Much to my shame, I couldn’t keep my voice from trembling. I wasn’t only scared for myself, but also for Vesper, Dineiro, and even Magda and Kirril. For whatever reason, my question seemed to snap the feline out of his amusement. “I assure you no harm has come to either of them,” he said almost earnestly. “We don’t mean to hurt you.”

ADULT EXCERPT

We held each other in an embrace that was half passion and half relief. Victor’s hands roamed over my now-naked body, leaving trails of fire all over my skin. From my lips and my thighs, and everything in between, he caressed me, making me gasp in desire.

His tongue thrust into my mouth, ravaging me, nearly stopping my breath. All the while, he cupped my ass cheeks, gripping and massaging, awakening an urge inside me that I hadn’t truly experienced before. Suddenly, I felt empty, and I needed my mate inside me.

I wasn’t exactly naïve, and I knew what happened between two men when they claimed each other. Many times, I’d discussed it with people in my village, and especially with my friends. I had realized even before what our union would imply. But now that the moment had finally come, it made me shiver with a delight I hadn’t expected.

But Victor didn’t rush. When we broke the kiss, he licked down my neck, sucking on my collarbone and nibbling on my Adam’s apple. He seemed to want to map every inch of my body with his mouth, and he took his time, swirling his tongue and driving shocks of pleasure through me.

The sensations were all so fresh and surprising. I honestly had nothing to compare it with, as this was the first time I’d allowed anyone to touch me like this. The pleasure threatened to swallow me whole, and I didn’t know if it was because of my new, human-sized body, my mate, or both. The only thing I knew was that, oh, Goddess, I wanted more. I needed more.

Victor seemed to read my mind. His mouth finally progressed down my chest, until it reached my nipple. As wet heat engulfed the tiny bud, I arched my back and cried out, shocked at the extent to which that simple touch could break my every notion of limits. I felt like he’d plunged me into an abyss of pure passion, and we’d only just started.

While he tormented one of my nipples with his obscenely talented mouth, he pinched the other, somehow managing to be both gentle and nearly violent. His caresses teased me with the promise of the union to come, the pleasure I could only find in our complete connection.

In that moment, I desperately wished I had known more, so that I could bring Victor the same pleasure he gave me. I’d have felt self-conscious, except I knew that just the fact that we were together like this meant more than any elaborate seduction techniques.

Of course, Victor didn’t have trouble in that department. In fact, each of his touches seemed engineered to draw even more ecstasy out of me. When he released my nipple, he progressed down my chest, as if trying to get acquainted with every inch of me. He even thrust his tongue in my belly button. I yelped at that, as the unexpected touch made a renewed wave of bliss flow over me. My mate had found a sensitive spot.

Since I’d long ago lost control of my body, pixie dust burst all around me. My wings twitched against the bed, as if they were urging me to take flight. But no, I was already flying, soaring in a sky I had never explored before, one of impossibly bright desire.

I didn’t even know what to do anymore. I couldn’t even tell which way was up. Usually, I had a great sense of orientation, but now all capacity of rational thought had abandoned me. I only remembered my own name because he had whispered it earlier, in that husky tone that still echoed in my ears.

I was so damn close to reaching an edge that I feared I would not be able to return from. When Victor lifted his head and looked at me, the words that had been bubbling inside me spilled out. “Please, Victor,” I whispered in a voice that I barely recognized as my own. “Touch me.”

Honestly, I didn’t know what I’d expected. Perhaps I hadn’t even thought about something in particular. Nevertheless, he surprised me when, out of the blue, he crawled lower down my body and, before I even knew what was going on, took my cock into his mouth. If the suction had felt amazing around my nipples and the touch of his tongue electrifying inside my belly button, now it was simply… I had no words. The sensations scattered my every thought, until only one of them remained. Yes, Victor, more.

Was it something I actually vocalized? I had no clue. Either way, Victor did listen to my plea. He increased the rhythm, bobbing his head up and down my prick, sucking for all he was worth. Already on the brink of orgasm, I couldn’t withstand the onslaught of ecstasy. With a scream, I buried my dick into Victor’s throat and came.

Victor drank down every drop, holding me while I rode the waves of my climax. All the while, he was making these small groans of pleasure that sent vibrations through my oversensitive dick, drawing out my rapture. At this point, I was a whimpering mess, unable to gather my wits, but impossibly, my body still responded. Even as I was recovering from my first orgasm, my cock hardened once again, eager to continue.

My mate released my dick from his mouth and grinned up at me, licking his lips. He looked like the proverbial cat that ate the cream, and the lust in his gaze simply burned me up. It hypnotized me, freezing me in that same mind space of anticipation and white-hot desire. I could barely breathe because of the need pulsing through my veins.