Reclaimed (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 2)

Shadow and I backed away from the edge, the platform rumbling beneath us—the only evidence we were even moving, since the view around us was nothing but swirls of mist, obscuring whatever lay beyond.

“Not being naked would be really great,” I said ruefully. “You know, before I have to go all kung fu on whoever is on the other side of this spell.”

There was no place to procure clothing, that was for sure, but then Shadow just clapped his hands together, and when he opened them a folded pile of clothing sat atop of them.

“What…?” I narrowed my eyes on him before looking back to the clothes.

He laughed at my confusion. “How did you think your clothing appeared in your wardrobe in the lair?”

“Seriously?” I pressed a hand to my naked chest. “That was you? But I loved my wardrobe; it always has the best clothing selection.”

Shadow’s eyes darkened. “It was more enjoyable than I anticipated, dressing you in exactly what I wanted.”

Now that time I’d had no underwear made perfect sense. Motherfucker.

“Fuck, dude. You’re lucky that you have decent taste in outfits.”

His grin was slow and predatory. “That red dress… I threw it in the options on a whim, not expecting you’d choose it.”

“I almost didn’t,” I admitted with a laugh.

Shadow didn’t laugh with me. “Seeing you in it nearly destroyed my long held control. I’ve never felt like killing my friends more than I did that night.”

I was completely knocked on my ass by that—not literally, but emotionally. “You did seem a little extra ornery that night.”

Now he laughed, a rich deep sound that echoed through our current transportation system, and as much as it was a shitty, scary situation we were in, this moment felt like a gift. “Ornery… yeah, I guess that’s one way to look at it.”

He held the bundle of clothing out and I took it. “How come you didn’t create clothing and such for me when we were in Faerie?” I asked.

His eyes flashed, the flames brighter. “Magic is tricky there, and I couldn’t be bothered dealing with the fallout. It was easier to let Inky handle it since it can portal directly without any ripple effect.”

I nodded. “Well, thank you.”

His gaze was scorching me, and I was almost tempted to hand this pile of clothes back and walk my naked ass under the waterfall again. I’d been a virgin only a few hours ago, not to mention we were currently on a one-way trip to the notorious Grey Lands, and all I could think about was climbing all over Shadow and letting him hold me hostage for a few days or weeks.

His nostrils flared, pupils dilating. “Sunshine, you know I can smell your arousal. And now is not the time.”

I briefly considered begging for one more orgasm, for both of us, before I reminded myself that this was for the best. It was always supposed to be a one-night thing. A taste of perfection, a moment in time to give myself over to him.

Submitting again was not good for either of us, and that meant no more Shadow for me.

Not in this lifetime.

“I better get dressed,” I choked out, stumbling away.

Just as I turned from him, melancholy pressing to my chest, a firm grip wrapped around my hair and back of my neck. I gasped as he jerked me back toward him, the pile of clothing flying out of my hands in an arc.

I didn’t give a single fuck, though, because he was kissing me. His hold on my neck possessive as he slid his other hand between my thighs, parting the folds to find the dampness at my center. I groaned and arched, giving him better access. He stroked a thumb over my clit, sending sparks of pleasure through me to the point my legs almost buckled.

One finger entered me, while his thumb continued a relentless assault on the ball of nerves. Almost immediately, a second finger pushed inside to join the first, and I cried out, swirls of pleasure already attacking me with relentless assault.

“Shadow,” I gasped.

His throaty groan sent me over the edge, and as I cried out, clawing and scratching his arms, his mouth found mine again. My moans were lost in the kiss as he relentlessly drew out my pleasure. Those damn expert fingers moved over sensitive nerve endings, and I was thoroughly wrecked by the time he was done.

It took me so long to get my breathing under control, Shadow’s hold keeping me upright. I leaned into him. “You want me to return the favor?” I was all but face to cock with his massive friend, and I wanted nothing more than to run my tongue over the moisture beading on the end.

“There’s no time,” he said, sounding disappointed as fuck by this.

I tilted my head back to see his face. “We’re almost there?”

He nodded, and the softer side of him was shelved again. I’d never met a man who reveled so much in giving pleasure, without just taking it for himself. Shadow’s mate was one fucking lucky lady. If she could just put up with the dominant side of him, she’d certainly never want for anything in the bedroom.

I really hoped the bitch was dead. Such a terrible thing to say, but my possessiveness of Shadow had reached new heights.

And I couldn’t fight a true mate bond, if that was what he wanted.

“I’ll get dressed,” I said shortly, my head filled with thoughts of him and another woman. It was enough to quench any lingering need to continue this fun foreplay.

My clothes were scattered across the stone, thankfully not near the water, so they were fine to wear. Moving away to give myself a little space, I found black lace underwear, which fit perfectly of course, a pair of jeans, and a plain black shirt.

When I padded back to Shadow, he was dressed as well, his fitted black shirt that matched mine—cute couple alert—showcasing the distracting perfection of his body.

“Boots,” he said, handing a pair across to me.

I was already wearing socks, so I slipped on the black biker boots, zipping them up my calf. Shadow had similar black shitkicker boots on, and since he was over seven feet tall again, they just added to the height towering above me.

He was vibing badass demon god today, his face grim as he stared out into the mists again. Maybe he was seeing something I couldn’t, or maybe he was just waiting for the inevitable end when we landed?

Meanwhile, my legs were still weak, the new magic panties no doubt damp, and that was all I could think about while I stared at him.

“Sunshine,” he warned, not turning to me.

“I’m stopping,” I said with a laugh. “But it’s almost cruel to show me everything I’ve been missing and then tell me I can’t have it again. A girl has needs.”

His lips twitched, and some of the stoic calm faded from his face. “We’ll take care of those needs later. For now, we’re about to reach the end of this road and find out exactly who decided to commit suicide today.”

Take care of those needs later… Hot. Damn.

More and more, it seemed that this thing between us was not going to be just a single night. Maybe I’d squeeze in a dozen or more orgasms before our inevitable parting. Could I sacrifice my will to fight for that long? If it was just in the “bedroom,” then, yeah… I probably could.

The thought that we weren’t quite done yet was enough to allow me to focus on the current situation.

The mists finally started to clear in the distance, and I stepped right to the edge of the stone with Shadow.

“How dangerous is it in The Grey Lands?”

His grim expression was answer enough.

I swallowed roughly. “Wow, well, when you put it like that, I am filled with so much hope for the future.”

When he didn’t say anything again, I shut my mouth, trying to mentally prepare for a possible forthcoming attack. The whirring under our feet halted, and I felt the moment we touched down to our new destination. The misty swirls faded like they’d never been there, and I swallowed a gasp at what lay beyond.

The Grey Lands evoked a certain mental image, one I’d already assigned to the name. I’d expected it would be a broken, barren, possibly desert terrain world.

But I was so far off, I wondered if Shadow had made a mistake in his estimate of where we’d been heading. “These are The… Grey Lands?”

From what we could see, our platform stopped somewhere close to the large front gates. The village that lay beyond was a winter wonderland, filled with snow-topped trees and picturesque lakes—frozen over and perfect for skating. There were many scattered buildings made from a shiny silver material, and it was almost Christmassy, even though there was no tradition or holiday like that here.

Basically, the view before me was about as far from a “grey” land as a place could be…

Shadow didn’t answer, just wrapped an arm around my shoulders, jerking me to the side. The projectile that had been shot our way narrowly slid past, and I looked down to see that it was a blue, crystallized net. A net that had been heading right for me.

“They want you,” Shadow bit out. “Of course they fucking do.”

Reacting faster than eyes could track, he slid behind me, grasping on to the side of the silvery netting and yanking on it hard. There was a brief moment of struggle, but Shadow won—shocker, right?—and a creature was hurled into sight. It scrambled back, and when it got to its feet, it was almost as tall as Shadow… not to mention built like a linebacker. Kind of explained how there was any struggle at all.

“What do you want?” Shadow roared, hauling the being up in his hands.

The face that stared back was not like Shadow’s or mine. It was not like any of the others I’d seen in this world, either. I was struggling to categorize it accurately, but at best guess, some sort of mix between animal and human? Not how I expected a clordee would look, but more like a… Dr. Seuss character.

Big yellow eyes blinked at us, the blue fur rippling beneath Shadow’s grip. The body was humanoid in shape, wearing natural hessian-type clothing, over the top of its… fur. Similar blue fur to what lined its face, only a little shorter.

And there were ears. Cat-like, point-tipped ears.

He opened his mouth, this man-cat, and spat out some words I didn’t understand. I had no fucking idea how I was supposed to react. Should I pet him…? Maybe throw some catnip his way?

Was I being super ignorant here thinking of this being as a cat-man? Probably, but it was the only way I could categorize him in my head, and that was how my brain functioned best. When shit was labeled.

Shadow answered it, switching from English to his melodic language, and Cat-man reacted, a scowl crumpling his feline face. Human expressions on a cat face freaked me out, but at least I could somewhat read what he was feeling. Since I still hadn’t learned to speak Shadow Realm.

Cat-man replied to Shadow in a rush of melodic words and the beast paused in his attempt to shake a fur-ball free from our attacker. “Their queen wants to see us,” he said, sounding surprised. I pressed closer to the heat pouring from Shadow’s skin.

“See us or me?” I asked.

The cat’s eyes shot to me, and he stared almost… hungrily. It was more than a little disconcerting.

Shadow shook it again, a harsh jerk that had a cat head snapping loudly. “Eyes off her,” Shadow warned before switching to their native language, and despite the melodic words, it was clear that he was still ripping this cat a new asshole.

“So what do we do?” I asked. “I’m less inclined to want to meet with a queen when she forcibly brought us here. Not to mention that little net that was just sent our way.”

It felt a lot like she’d attempted to make us her prisoners, and that was not cool with me. Not cool at all. As I’d told Shadow many a time, if you wanted to capture me, you had to buy me dinner first. It was only polite.

Shadow’s chest shook as his darker side tried to break free, and I knew the fire was only moments from appearing. Singed fur was in this Cat-man’s future if he didn’t come up with a way to appease the beast.

He must have figured that out as well, his feline features calming as he said something else, looking between Shadow and me. There was a gleam in his large yellow eyes I didn’t like.

“They will assure our safety for this initial meeting,” Shadow translated, “and from what I’m sensing around us, there are a lot of its kind close by. Could be easier to save the fighting until we know for sure they’re a threat. Our mists are on their way here, so we have backup coming.”

I nodded, feeling better about that.

“Okay, yeah. Let’s do it.”