Master of the Hunt Page 6

  The very thought did him in. He jerked, releasing in her once again, soaking her womb with his seed. With long, heavy breaths, he put his forehead to hers.

  She giggled softly. “I’m pretty sure I came that time.”

  He laughed. “I would agree.”

  She locked gazes with him. “Aeson.”

  “Yes?”

  “Promise me something.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose. “Anything.”

  “Promise you won’t just claim me without my permission. Promise you’ll give us time to get to really know each other. Time to be a couple before you make me your wife. I sort of understand about it all. My father explained it to me a little.”

  He stilled.

  She didn’t know? The act was already done. The claim was already staked and accepted on her part. She was already his wife. There was no taking it back.

  Panicked, Aeson nodded. “Y-yes. Of course, my sweet sparrow. I promise.”

  She smiled and then kissed him. Her nose wrinkled. “It’s really, really wet down there.”

  “Then let us bathe, dry you and then make you wet again.”

  She laughed as he exited her body before lifting her and carrying her towards his personal bathing chamber. Guilt ate at him with each step he took. He wasn’t sure how he was going to explain to her that it was too late—she was already claimed.

  Chapter Eight

  Shelby laughed as Aeson tucked a flower behind her ear. He took her hand back in his as they walked along a wooded path. The realm was beautiful. It was so untouched by what took from Earth’s beauty—the industrialism and technology—that she couldn’t stop staring and noting the absence of things like paved roads and skyscrapers.

  It was perfect.

  Being here with Aeson was even better.

  She giggled and went to her tiptoes, kissing him sweetly.

  He wagged his brows and drew her against his body. “Mmm, continue and I will be buried deep within you again.”

  She gulped. She was sore from their night of lovemaking.

  Aeson laughed, touching her cheek gently. “Worry not, my sweet sparrow. I know you came to my bed untouched, and I understand your body needs time before I can ravish it more.”

  She tugged on his shoulders, forcing him to bend so she could kiss him again. “You’re so cocky.”

  He tongued her mouth. “What of my cock?”

  “Aeson,” she chided. “You’re terrible.”

  “I know. Perhaps you should take me home and punish me. With your mouth please.”

  She thought about having his large cock in her mouth once more and she blushed.

  He tilted her chin upright. “What happens between us is beautiful, sweet sparrow. Never question that. Never doubt it. Never, ever be ashamed by it.”

  “Easy for you to say. You’re a seasoned pro,” she murmured. “My experience consists of last night.”

  “You have me at your beck and call, Shelby,” he said with a grin. “Have you need of tutoring in the finer arts of sex, you have but to ask. Though, you should know, I find myself so lost in you that I lose focus easily.”

  “My lord,” a man said, rushing up the path. He spotted Shelby and came to a grinding halt.

  “Taqeen, speak freely,” Aeson said.

  The man nodded. “Yes, my lord. Excuse the interruption but a summons has gone out. You have not responded and your brother is worried. He has been most concerned over the welfare of your chosen one.” He stared directly at Shelby.

  Shelby offered a pensive smile.

  The man’s demeanor changed somewhat. He returned the smile, seeming less threatening. “Are you she?” he asked.

  “She who?”

  “His chosen one, of course,” Taqeen stated evenly.

  Aeson chuckled. “She is. Stop glowering at me. I would not bring a random woman home to meet my family. You have known me all my years, old man. How many times have you seen me bring any woman home?”

  “I’ve seen you a fair number of times in the brothels and associating with the likes of the loose morals women,” Taqeen said. “This one is a good girl. I can sense it on her. I wanted to be sure she was your chosen and that you did not simply pluck a darling from the sky and demand she come with you. It does seem a very you thing to do.”

  “Actually,” Shelby said with a snort. “He kind of did do that. But, I’m glad he did.”

  “He’s been kind to you?” the man asked.

  She nodded. “Very.”

  “And he’s not harmed you? Mind you, Aeson is a good boy but has taken some questionable paths in his young life.”

  “Young life?” she echoed.

  “He is nearly one thousand cycles,” Aeson said lowly.

  She sucked in a large breath. “Wow, you don’t look a day over forty earth years.”

  Taqeen chuckled. “I like her, Aeson. Cause her harm or sadden her and I will run you through with the very sword I trained you with. Understood?”

  “Of course.” Aeson lifted Shelby’s hand and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of it. “Taqeen, please notify my brother that I’ve retrieved my mate and that she is safe and well.”

  “And is she…?”

  Aeson nodded. “She is.”

  With that, Taqeen headed back down the path.

  Shelby twisted in Aeson’s arms. “I’m what?”

  “In need of food,” he said, turning her in a circle. “Come. I shall take you home and fill your belly with food and then with my seed, yes?”

  She laughed as she sank against his embrace. “You’re too much. You really, really are.”

  “So I have been told.”

  She grunted. “Put me down.”

  “I rather like holding you.”

  * * * * *

  Aeson chuckled at the annoyed grunt that fell free from his mate. She was precious and his. He had yet to tell her that he’d done the one thing she’d asked he not—claim her. She would come to love him with time. He was sure of it and by claiming her, he added a layer of protection over her. Her life span would extend to mirror his own. She would not age. She would not die.

  Since she wasn’t entirely human she would have aged slower than most, but without the ability to shift forms, she would have indeed aged. Now, she would not. In addition, claiming her gave him the ability to track her and to sense her emotions better. Should she ever be in danger, he would know. Gods help any who attempted to harm her.

  His grip on her tightened as he thought of various scenarios where Shelby might be injured or harmed.

  She gasped. “Too tight, Aeson.”

  He cleared his head. “What?”

  She pushed at his arm. “You’re holding me too tight.”

  “My apologies,” he whispered, kissing her ear. He headed quickly back to his home and the moment the door shut behind them, Aeson set her down, positioning her with her back to his front. He lifted her skirts and slapped her ass playfully.

  Shelby laughed and sank back against him. “Aeson?”

  “I need to be in you,” he said in a hushed whisper.

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  Reaching down, he freed himself from his trews and lifted her off the ground enough to line up with her core. He pushed on her back, bending her over more before stepping to the chair back for extra support. Shelby leaned over it as Aeson pressed the head of his cock into her wet entrance. Her pussy seized hold of his cock and he slid home, going deep, making her cry out. She fit him like a glove and he held his breath a moment, fighting off the need to release in her.

  She panted, grabbing hold of the chair back. “Harder.”

  He nodded, pumping in and out of her harder. His balls slapped against her, making a loud sound, but Aeson ignored it, too focused on how good her pussy felt to care much beyond that. He plowed his cock into her, causing the chair to slide across the floor. He walked with it, never leaving the sanctuary of Shelby’s glorious body. When he could no longer hold off the pending orgasm, he reached
around, finding her clit with his finger and rubbed it. Shelby cried out, her pleas a mix of wanting him to stop and keep going as if she wasn’t sure what she wanted.

  Manly victory assailed him as her pussy held firm to him, contracting, pulsing around his cock as she came. He rooted in place, his cum bursting free of him and bathing her womb. He took measured breaths as he leaned over his wife, kissing her shoulder, his cock still twitching in her. “A man could die a thousand deaths in you.”

  She looked over her shoulder at him. “Is that a good or bad thing?”

  “Mmm.” He kissed her lips. “It’s a very good thing, my sweet sparrow. We must clean and ready ourselves for the feast I am sure my brother is already ordering in honor of us.”

  She wiggled on his cock. “But I want to play more.”

  He groaned, wanting the same as her. “Let us see to my brother’s wishes and then we shall lock ourselves in our home and not leave for weeks, yes?”

  Shelby smiled wide. “Yes.”

  Chapter Nine

  Shelby stared blankly at the man next to Aeson. She glanced at Aeson. “You never once thought to mention you’re a twin?”

  He shrugged. “We are not.”

  Kabril grinned. “There is another. Keonae. He too matches us.”

  “You’re a triplet?” she demanded of Aeson.

  He nodded. “You are a twin.”

  “A fraternal twin. Not identical.”

  “Good thing,” he returned. “Shelton is not my type.”

  She groaned. “Aeson, really. You never once thought to bring this up? You asked me all about my past, what it was like growing up the way I did and about things Shelton and I used to do when we were little and when I asked you about your family, you said—it’s large.”

  “It is.”

  Kabril nodded in agreement. “It is.”

  “Oh, sweetie,” a woman said as she entered the room. She went right to Kabril and he kissed her temple. “You’re fighting a losing battle if you want information from them. They’ve been alive so long that they tend to not stop and think. They just assume the information is common knowledge or that it’s not interesting enough to share. Ask them about battles. They’ll never shut up.”

  Kabril laughed and kissed her again. “Are we truly that bad, wife?”

  Wife?

  Shelby smiled. “You must be Rayna. Aeson was kind enough to mention you were human. I think he only told me so I’d feel less alone here.”

  Rayna nodded. “But, I’m told you’re a blending of both.”

  “More human than not, I’m afraid. I can’t fly. My brother can. Daddy says there isn’t a difference between Shelton and the males of the race anymore. But me, he tends to avoid discussing much of because he knows deep down I’m very different from the females.”

  Rayna moved towards her and put out her arms. “Welcome home, Shelby. Kabril and I are so happy you’re here. Aeson is so incredibly lucky and I think he knows it. The castle has been abuzz with talk of them seeing him picking flowers and laughing. Two things they aren’t used to seeing from him at all. They’re already hoping you soften his rough exterior.”

  Before Shelby could answer, the door burst open and three little boys, all looking exactly alike, came bounding through. They were chasing one another and an older woman came in behind them, looking tired. The boys went wild.

  Kabril clapped his hands and instantly, they stopped and froze in place. Their little lips pursed. “Hi father,” the one in the middle said.

  The one on the end grinned. “Mother.”

  Rayna gave them a stern look. “Boys, are you misbehaving?”

  They shook their heads.

  Shelby couldn’t help but laugh.

  All eyes came to her. The boys’ jaws dropped. The one to the end wagged his tiny brows while the one in the center batted his lashes.

  Kabril tossed his head back and laughed. “Brother, I dare say my sons have taken a liking to your woman.”

  The middle one puffed his chest out. “She is too pretty for Uncle Aeson.”

  Rayna and Shelby laughed.

  Shelby bent to be eye level with the boys. “And you lot, how old are you?”

  They each held up four fingers.

  “I see. So, you’re quite old, indeed. Nearly ancient.”

  They beamed.

  She pursed her lips. “Tell me, at your old age, do you find you need to nap to keep your strength up?”

  The woman in the doorway sighed. “My lady, I was trying to get the boys down for their naps but they refused. The young princes have a great deal of energy.”

  Shelby looked at each of them. “Is that true? Did she try to get you down for a nap but you refused?”

  They hung their heads in shame.

  “There’s still time to prove what good little princes you are,” she said, touching one of their shoulders. “What if we make it a race? Who can be first to their bed? First to fall asleep and then who can sleep the longest? I wonder?” She touched her chin. “This may be too much for you. At only four years each, hmm?”

  “I shall win,” the middle one said.

  “No. I will.”

  “No, me!”

  They bolted from the room and the woman at the door looked to her. “You’re a mother then, I see?”

  Sadness shrouded Shelby. “No. I went to school to teach little ones. Their age actually and slightly younger.”

  “You’ve none of your own?” the woman asked. “Really? You’re so good with them. A natural.”

  “If it were possible, I’d have a houseful of my own,” Shelby said. “But it’s not, so I take pleasure in helping to teach other people’s little ones. I have stickers at my house that I use with the little ones I teach. I’ll bring them back and give them to you. When the boys do something very good, place a sticker near their name on the chart I’ll make you. When they fill a row, they get a treat. Something they really enjoy—be it a sweet, extra play time, whatever. It should help to cut down on the number of escapees you have at nap time.”

  “Bless you, child,” the woman said. “You were sent by the bird gods, for sure.”

  She left and Kabril and Rayna looked at her. Rayna smiled past her at Aeson. “Hear that? She wants a house full. You better explain to her that the males determine how many children are in a womb at a time—not the female. I know I was surprised when I learned.”

  Shelby stiffened. “I’m not having children with Aeson.”

  Aeson touched her shoulder. “We can speak more of them later—in private.”

  “Aeson,” she said, refusing to look at him. “I can’t have children. Daddy explained it to me when I was young.”

  Rayna stepped closer. “And what did your father say?”

  “That my mother died while giving birth to Shelton and I. That I couldn’t ever have a child with a human male because of the risk that the child would develop traits of the bird shifter and that I couldn’t ever have a child with a bird shifter male because I was more human than not and like my mother, my body wouldn’t be able to handle the stress.”

  “Surely he did not mean you could not have children with your chosen mate,” Kabril said. “Rayna was fully human when I mated with her. She carried the boys with ease. As did Paige with Sachin’s young ones.”

  “Daddy mentioned true mates before. He said my mom wasn’t his but that he’d somehow been blessed with Shelton and me. He kind of feared that like my mom, I’d be able to get pregnant from any male—not just my chosen or whatever it is you call it. And that my body would suffer because of it.”

  Rayna stared at Aeson. “What does your gut tell you?”

  Kabril laughed. “He hopes no children come of their union. See the way he looks at the boys. I think he fears them.”

  Aeson pulled Shelby against him. “My gut tells me when the time is right, we will be gifted with new life and that Shelby will be safe, so will the babes.”

  She glanced back at him. “You’d have to claim me first
and remember, you agreed to give me time to think about it all?”

  Kabril coughed.

  Aeson shook his head, staring at his brother.

  “She does not know?” Kabril asked.

  “Know what?” Shelby asked.

  Aeson sighed. “Shelby, about the me claiming you.”

  She paused. “Aeson, you didn’t.”

  There was a pensive shimmer in the depths of his eyes. “I did. In my defense, I couldn’t help myself.”

  She gasped. “Aeson, you promised!”

  “I know but you are hard to resist, my sweet sparrow.”

  She poked him in the chest. “Don’t you sweet sparrow me. You are so in trouble right now.”

  He hung his head like a scolded child, reminding her of his nephews. “Yes, wife.”

  She jolted at the word wife and he snickered. Shelby smacked his chest. “You are sleeping alone tonight and probably tomorrow night too.”

  His eyes widened and the smile faded from his face. “But, Shelby…”

  Rayna laughed. “Oh, Kabril, look. They remind me of us when I’m mad at you.”

  “How do you not kill him if he’s anything like Aeson?” Shelby demanded.

  Rayna snorted. “It’s hard. Wish I could say it gets easier with time but they’re a stubborn lot. What do you say we go get ready for the feast this evening and leave these two to think about how to behave?”

  The king blinked. “I did not misbehave. It was my brother.”

  “Oh, I’m thinking you’ve done something I just haven’t learned about yet,” Rayna said.

  “I would never,” Kabril said, a sly grin on his face.

  “So that wasn’t you who was sparring with one hand tied behind your back earlier today?”

  He gulped. “N-no.”

  Aeson laughed.

  Shelby pointed at him and he shut up.

  Rayna looped her arm through Shelby’s. “Let’s go.”