Page 165 of The Satyr's Guilt
“My satyr recognized what it wanted. Abrave, strong, and beautiful female. You were right, pest.”
“For the record, I’m getting a two-fer, kid.I adore you.” Denim opened her arms. When Jonquil ran into them,she folded herself around the child.
“I love you, too.” The kid’s eyes moistenedunder thick lashes. “Can we talk about what I can call you? Denimdoesn’t sound like we’re … you know, special.”
Denim swiped a palm across her eyes beforeshe got all weepy. “What would you like to call me?”
The girl got shy, a toe of her shoe tracinga pattern on the tile floor. “Mom.”
Denim swallowed the lump in her throat. Sheglanced at Ram, who watched the scene, a satisfied smile on hisface. When she had least expected it, Ram stormed into her life.And to think the gorgeous male came as a package deal. “Nothingcould make me happier than to have you call me Mom.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Celene closed the showerdoor, steam filling the bathroom. She scrubbed a hand across themirror, studying her blurry image. Her blonde hair was longer thanshe liked, and restless nights made her eyes puffy. She curled herlips into a fake smile, trying it out. Nope. It didn’t make herfeel better. Drying off, she donned warm sweats, a T-shirt, andfluffy socks.
In the kitchen, she poured her second coffeeof the morning, spread butter and jelly on a piece of toast, andambled into the sitting room with today’s breakfast. She set theplate on the couch beside her, kept her finger curled around thecup handle, and openedThe Pathto continue reading.
Alone on a cliff in The Vast, Ohngel studiedthe beings Gahya called shifters. He was intrigued. While he didnot agree with how she had made her Aeternals, they possessed aspark for life he envied. Did she visit them, guide them, nurturethem as a mother should? He would ask when he next journeyed to herabode. For now, his gaze focused on the creatures below.
In thick woods filled with tall pines, leafybushes, and mossy undergrowth, a large black-and-gray animal,shadowed by a smaller silver-tipped wolf, loped into a clearing,blood of a recent kill staining their muzzles and fur. So much so,they appeared to have bathed in their food’s carcass.
When they assumed their two-legged form, thenaked male strutted, his cock engorged and jutting outward. Needcoursed through him as he cast furtive glances toward the female.She eyed her companion, her amber pupils glowing withanticipation.
Casting a glance over her shoulder, sheoffered him a chase by turning to flee. The male wolf tackled her,throwing her to her hands and knees. “Stay very still,” hesnarled.
Though his muscular arm clenched around herhips, she struggled in his grasp.
He bared his savage canines and clamped ontoher shoulder, immediately freezing her efforts. She would submit orbe torn apart.
With a sense of survival and her own arousalgrowing, the she-wolf lowered her head, acquiescing to thealpha.
He took his thickness into his fist, pumpingtwice before he rubbed the crown through her moist thighs. With thetip at her entrance, he surged forward as she cried out in pleasureor pain. It was difficult to tell the difference.
Flesh slapped flesh while their sweatybodies crashed against one another. When the male shifter unlockedhis teeth from the female, he churned against her hips, hispounding frantic. In and out. Hammering her body. Relentless in hisneed to finish.
The she-wolf screamed his name. After ashudder rolled through her, she quieted.
But the male was not finished. On his knees,he pulled her hard against his chest, one arm curling under herbreasts and the other low across her hips. He growled as hecontinued to ravage her with frenetic thrusts. With one final deepsurge, he howled while his seed flowed into his companion.Finished, he dropped the smiling she-wolf to the ground.
Aroused by the scene below, Ohngel called awilling female to his chamber. When eager dainty sandals tappedacross the tile outside his bedroom, he again wondered whether theOneCreator would be displeased that Gahya had shared carnal desire.Her creatures were almost savage in their drive for nourishment andsex. And their needs were growing.
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Once again Denim was on unpadded kneesat Gahya’s marble feet. This time, she wore a pale green gown thecolor of Ram’s eyes with layers and layers of thin, frothy silk. Ashort train swept onto the floor behind her. The fabric of the longdress gathered tight at the waist and rose to hug her breasts. Ather shoulder, apin studded with sapphires, emeralds, rubies,and citrines fastened to a delicate strap. A gift from Ram, itdepicted a Phoenix in flight.
Baskets of fruits and vegetables surroundedthe goddess, sumptuous offerings dropped off earlier by Denim andJonquil.
As the Blood Coven descendant rose in asurging mass of sea foam, she resisted the urge to twirl aroundlike Scarlet O’Hara at a ball. Instead, she stretched onto her toesto whisper in the goddess’s marble ear. “Thank you for bringing himhome.”
In a gold gown of similar light silk buttopped off with a white sash at her waist and matching sandals,Jonquil was adorable. Denim had braided the girl’s hair and piledit on top of her head with stray wisps feathering her angelicface.
The child repaid Denim by using the curlingiron to create soft, shining chestnut waves which fell around hershoulders. She wore it brushed off her face, unconcerned about thescar. It was no longer the symbol of a victim. It was the symbol ofa strong woman who had survived to build a better life.
All Scion Firebrands who weren’t on duty, afew of Denim’s Alliance friends, and Ram’s mother and father alongwith their invited guests packed the Temple.
Margo, Braelyn, Skyler, Lizette, and Galenahad decorated Gahya’s shrine with swaths of lavish purple cloth,weaving it in and out of the alabaster columns. The fabricfluttered in a gentle breeze scented with thousands of goldenlilies from Darque. Candles filled the temple with soft, flickeringlight while music floated on the air, an otherworldly sound. Denimwas the center of a childhood fantasy come to life.
Jonquil pressed a bouquet of the same liliesinto Denim’s hand. Woman and child walked through the drapedcolonnade along a path lined with Firebrands. Palm in palm, bothsmiling, Ram’s females entered the Temple’scilia.
