Ram Wild_A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance Page 3

  She was barely containing herself as it was and if she didn't hurry up and make her move, she would succumb to his heady scent. By the gods, why did he have to smell so good? Was this some trick by one of the gods? Loki perhaps or some other? Gods and men alike played with people's minds, one reason she knew she couldn't stay near the other nymphs—not that she ever fit in among them with her green eyes and dark hair standing out in such contrast. Plus her bigger than average size. Which she liked and found many men enjoyed too.

  His handsome features drew her in, even though she tried to ignore them and hang onto her anger. She enjoyed the closeness, the feel of his heat and his erection. Echo wiggled, moving over him. Jace groaned, and the sound made her want to hear how he would sound as he slid in and out of her. Would he have a deep grunt as he came? Echo squeezed her thighs together, her core clenching at the prospect of having her way with him.

  "You're right little nymph, my mind is firmly set, and I will have my way. If you'll be so kind as to give me my fleece, we can have some fun before I leave the city." His dark, hooded eyes seemed to see straight through her.

  She gripped the rage inside her, holding onto it tightly. She needed it in order to do what needed to be done and not fall for his physical charms. The words coming out of his mouth did more to enrage her than woo her. Jace smirked as his arms moved down toward her body. As if she'd let him get very far after his remark, despite her own desire to have him.

  Echo kept careful track of how close his very strong looking hands were to her backside. Her skin seemed over sensitive to his every little movement, his every breath. He rocked himself against her, the hard length of him derailing her thoughts again.

  No, she needed to stay on track.

  Echo rocked her hips and met his thrusts, encouraging him as his hands slid down her sensitive sides. Before he managed to grab onto her hips, Echo snatched a hold of the collar of his shirt with both hands and used all her might to pull him up off the couch.

  Leverage was everything.

  "Be that as it may, you aren't welcome here." She smiled, proud she had moved him off the couch and put a little cool distance between the heat of their flesh. Her nipples hardened against her blouse, causing a rippling sensation, making her wet for him. The space offered her some perspective. If he couldn't be seduced, couldn't be moved to let the fleece go, she'd have to find a way to get him out and make sure he didn't find it until she had taken care of Fahd. All she had to do now was get him to the door before he could counter her leverage. Echo couldn't contemplate what she might do if this didn't work. Darkness was falling in the sky, and the land was shifting, trying to not attract Fahd by moving magic around the forest, not concentrating it in one area, even as she tugged at her own magic she could feel the forests need to not give too much.

  Jace's eyes widened in shock. Echo willed her magic through her bare feet, drawing up from the land, letting the warm tingle flow through her stomach and out her hands, shoving the man to the front door in one quick burst of magical energy. As a nymph in harmony with the land, her magic could be powerful if she needed it to be. Mother nature would lend her strength, and the land adored nymphs. She was sure she had him. She would throw him out and lock up behind him.

  He spun around faster than Echo thought possible without missing a single step. He danced her toward the front door, grabbing a firm hold of Echo's wrists, keeping the magic from hitting him again as he moved out of her line of fire. His eyes seemed to darken even more.

  Everything happened so fast she barely registered what he'd done until her back roughly met the unforgiving door. His leaned his chest into her, pinning her to him, and the very weight of his form felt entirely too good. Damn her body for wanting his. How had he managed to turn the tables so easily? He should be on his knees begging for her to caress him, to make him come. Instead she was pinned against her own door. Jace pulled her hands apart and slid them up above her head before she could react. He was using his body against her when she should have been using hers against him. She tried desperately to swallow her shock and the wanton need for him to be aggressive with her some more. Since when did she like being thrown around so much? Echo considered the fact that no man had ever manhandled her until she met Jace.

  "I don't think that’s any way to treat a guest." His eyes blazed with a heat Echo had seen on countless men through the years. By the gods, she enjoyed that look and the fact he was using it on her. Her core throbbed with need. As much as men wanted her, she lusted just as much, but until Jace came along she hadn't had much satisfaction and she could almost swear he knew it. The peaks of her nipples rubbed along her blouse, and she tried not to move to encourage the sensation, which sent a rippling zing straight to the throbbing betwixt her thighs. This man, this immortal was far more than she bargained for, and she still hadn't quite figured out how he managed to get past her invisibility wards, it was as if fate had played a role somehow. The land helped to protect her; had it let him in? Technically, he shouldn't have been able to find her.

  Echo struggled ineffectively. She pulled at her wrists, but his hold was solid and didn't budge even a little. There was only one option left. "Guests are invited," Echo said as she pulled her knee up quick and hard, landing in the sweet spot between his legs. Satisfaction coursed through her for standing up to him. How dare he think she wouldn't. Though her true feelings were of need and want, she wouldn't be giving in to his desires when he should be the one giving in. That was the whole point of this entanglement to begin with. Damn him for switching it on her. And he deserved that knee for her body's betrayal and invading her space. It was only fair she managed to invade his as well. She smiled in spite of his scowl.

  His jaw clenched, and a grunt barely made it past his perfect lips, but, to Echo's surprise, Jace didn't go down. Every other man she'd kneed had fallen while holding onto his precious balls. But Jace stood stoic, seemingly even stronger than he was before as his grip tightened slightly on her wrists. Not enough to hurt, but enough for her to know she had made a small impact on him, even if he didn't respond fully to her invasion. Instead, he only allowed a few inches of space between them—enough so she couldn't knee him again. He took a deep breath, perhaps to calm himself, and then said, "Don't worry, I invited myself."

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Jace bit his tongue as pain throbbed along his balls. Echo was strong willed, cute when angry, and infuriating when she did shit like knee him in the crotch. Damned if he didn't feel a sense of pride though. She wasn't taking his guff. She was standing up for herself, and it became clear to him that she cared for something more than the ingrained lust of nymphs, more than just sex. The fleece mattered greatly to her for some reason and he wanted to know why.

  The inches of scant distance he'd put between them wasn't enough to keep her arousal from his senses or cool the heat between their bodies, let alone calm the throbbing of his shaft. Jace stared at her for a long moment, wondering what he would do with his little nymph. Her chest rose and fell heavily, sweat beaded along the crevice of her cleavage, and he enjoyed ogling it. He wanted his mouth suckling her hardened peaks, begging to be touched through her white blouse. Her outfit, designed to make full use of her feminine wiles, lured him in, as it had surely lured many others. While he had followed his ram here, he was drawn in by her nymph magic, and the fleece was no longer the only thing he wanted. He dragged his gaze from her breasts and back up to her face. "Low blow, little nymph. I think I might have to retaliate." He bared his teeth at her in a grin.

  Echo's bright eyes widened, and she struggled to free her arms. When she couldn't, she tried to stomp on one of his feet, not that her bare foot on his shoe-covered one would have done any harm, but he moved it out of the way regardless. He liked the fight in her. With her leg extended toward him, Jace slipped his knee between her thighs, tit for tat and all. Her knee felt him up, and now it was his turn.

  Jace pushed his body back into hers, spreading her legs and rubbing up her thigh un
til he felt the heat of her on his knee. He groaned, knowing that heat was made by him; her arousal was for him. The ram inside wanted to rut, but Jace kept his beast in check. She gasped as his pants created friction along her panties. She was so hot. He pushed his leg up into her, and she rocked those wide feminine hips against him.

  Right there, that was right...

  Ah, there she was. The wanton, desperate nymph hidden under whatever was keeping her from being her true self. He'd drag it out of her and find the secret place she’d hidden his fleece in the process. Echo's breasts jutted forward, pressing into his chest; she no longer struggled, and those bright green eyes slid closed. He ground his knee against her, meeting every single thrust of her hips. His hands firmly holding her wrists, she was caught between him and the solid door, no escape, and he wouldn't be the one to surrender tonight.

  Her nipples were hardened peaks begging for attention, and Jace obliged them, moving his head down as he held her firmly against the door. He sucked one nipple into his mouth even though the blouse stood between them. The nub hardened even more for him, and her moan met his ears. He wanted to hear it again and moved his lips to the other nipple, suckling her through the material with his shaft straining so hard against the top of his jeans. He resisted thrusting even as her hips rocked faster along his knee. She moaned again, and Jace slid his tongue up the side of her neck.

  "You are so beautiful like this." He glanced at her face to watch her as the throws of passion consumed her.

  Shadows had cascaded throughout the house with the sun finally falling below the horizon, and all Jace could think about was how her lips parted when she rubbed against him. He couldn't help himself, when her rocking sped up, he stole another kiss, catching the gasp escaping as her entire body began to shake against him.

  The ground below them shuddered.

  Jace abruptly pulled his lips free of hers and all motion stopped between them. His nostrils flared out, but when he inhaled, he didn't smell anything different. He zoned in on his hearing, and other than a few scratching noises, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

  "He's here." Echo's eyes looked around her home, frantic. "Let me go now. You don't know what he’ll do if I don't stop him." She pushed at Jace. The sheer panic in her voice made him let her go.

  Something was very wrong.

  A sour scent wafted to his nose, coming from beyond the front door. Echo flipped around and pulled the door open so hard it slammed into the wall. A deep darkness had consumed any light outside. The sun had been setting previously, there should have been more light. Either Jace had been too distracted to notice how far into the night it had gotten or something was very wrong. Echo slid the screen open and ran out as fast as she could. Jace followed, unsure what was happening, but the rock forming in his stomach plus the sour stench told him whatever she was afraid of was very old and very bad.

  He called upon his internal black ram, felt the shift of his facial features as his forehead hardened and horns jutted from his hairline. He didn't want a full change, but menacing looks were a bonus when confronting not-so-nice things. Dashing out into the darkness, he felt pressure on all sides from something or someone powerful, as if they were trying to slow him down. As if he were underwater. No animals or insects made any sounds, and the silence screamed of danger. Echo made it most of the way to her tree. The white oak was being covered by thousands of small insects of some kind. A tall, lanky figure came forward. Jace could just barely make out the outline of a man as he continued after Echo.

  "Fahd. Please..." Echo's voice broke as she spoke.

  Who the hell was Fahd? Jace’s nostrils flared as his ram recognized the fear in Echo's voice. He suddenly had to protect her. His body followed orders to put himself between the nymph and danger before Jace realized he'd done it.

  "Nymph. It figures you would be what drew me here. What have you hidden from me in this great oak?" Fahd's words reverberated throughout the area as if Jace were in some kind of echoing underground hole. The guy’s voice sounded almost broken, as if his words didn't quite come out of his mouth right. He definitely wasn't human.

  Right then, everything started to come together. Echo had hidden his fleece inside the oak.

  "It matters not, as my insects will reveal the truth. The powerful waves of magic beckoning, intrigues me, it wants me to take it." Fahd said. His insects seemed to be consuming the tree, and bits of gold shone out in small sections they had eaten there way through. The bark had holes. When one of the holes opened and the golden hue broke through the darkness to shine on Fahd, he screeched such a high-pitched sound Jace had to cover his ears.

  When the screeching stopped, Jace and Echo looked back at the tree. The insects had covered all the holes and sat so still on the tree bark it was as if the tree was half black and half white. If Jace hadn't known better, he would have never been able to make out the insects.

  "Golden Fleece." Fahd floated or flew, Jace couldn't be sure, to the tree, a long arm extended to touch it. Then he whirled around to Echo. "You meant to use this on me, nymph?"

  "You are destroying my trees!" Her voice was filled with so much hurt Jace ached for her, his heart clenching at her words. She pushed past him to face Fahd. She had roots here, literally. Guilt came at Jace like a snake striking out. If she would have told him, he might have been sympathetic. Though Jace didn't really know how the fleece could help. It had power and was rumored to have healing properties, but how did Echo expect to use it to stop this powerfully dark being?

  Echo's hair whipped around in the breeze as she stood her ground against Fahd. She had to have known there was nothing more she could do, and yet here she stood in the face of danger and all Jace could see was a beautiful striking white nymph against the black. His heart slammed against his ribcage when he finally understood she couldn’t be controlled and she couldn't be forced. She had such will power and strength inside her. Where had she gained it? What could have happened in her life to give so much courage to a nymph? She acted outside of any norm he had learned about her species.

  "I would do anything to protect my land and magic. You are killing everything." Echo's voice came out like steel, accusing. Jace couldn't help the swelling in his heart at how brave she was toward this shadowy figure. The magic tendrils of the land moved around Jace. Echo flung her hand out and pushed her magic into Fahd. But he opened his arms and laughed, absorbing her blows.

  "I survive on magic. I cannot live without it. Instead of defeating me, you have given me something far greater than I could have ever imagined. A way to live for eternity. The mythical golden fleece of the gods will be enough to keep me in magic forever. And my power...I could rule this world, settle it into the deepest darkness, and allow my creatures to flourish within the land. I will be unstoppable. Thanks to an insignificant nymph."

  Jace squelched the urge to shift and ram the bastard with his horns. It would do no good. Fahd would not only see him coming but escape before Jace's horns ever touched him.

  The wind started up in a long howling sound as if a storm had come. Echo's hair wiped all over the place, and Jace covered his eyes from the debris flying in the air: leaves and sticks. This magic wasn't coming from Echo. Jace peeked through his fingers, again moving to stand in front of Echo to block things from hitting her. Hooves broke his shoes as he dug in, being Echo's windbreak as completely as he could. His whole body contorted naturally, within moments. He leaned forward without a second thought or hesitation as the change came over him. Course, black hair pushed up from under his skin as his hands turned into hooves. The shifting never hurt or felt uncomfortable. It was second nature, like riding a bike. He got on and peddled, his body just did as his subconscious commanded.

  His full ram form stood sideways, blocking debris from hitting Echo. She held onto his black fur, and those damn soft fingers played havoc on his body despite the danger.

  The winds died down, as if never have been, and Echo fell to her knees. The moon revealed itself in a
silver crescent, washing the area in a graceful light as if nothing had disturbed the night. Leaves and twigs clung to Echo's dark curls. Tears slid down her cheeks, and Jace stomped at the ground. When her gaze found his, the deep sadness inside her showed through her eyes, dimming the brightness he was already used to seeing within their depths. Her skin had paled to an almost translucent white. What had the dark villain done to her?

  Echo looked beyond him, and her delicate fingers covered a gasp from her mouth, fear consuming every part of her face. Jace started to shift as he turned his head, grabbing the shredded pants around his waist.

  Her great white oak tree had vanished.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Echo's chest constricted, tightening so much she could barely breathe. Fahd had taken her oak tree. Pain lanced through her. She was tied to that tree, and anything happening to it would hurt her too. He'd ripped it right out of the ground, splitting it off at the base. Broken and torn roots showed through the hole in the dirt, sticking out of the ground as if reaching for the tree. Shock tore through her thoughts along with a deep sadness at what the tree meant. She would die without it. The magic cast upon her to protect this land was tied to the tree in order to give her access to the energy the land held. She'd made a promise to protect them all.

  A throbbing began at the base of her skull as she stared at the hole where her tree used to be. There would be no going back, no big fix. "I am going to die." Echo attempted to stand, but her knees buckled as more pain burned its way through her legs. Sweat popped along her forehead, and she took in a few deep breaths, hoping to ease some of the pain. Jace grabbed under her arms to help hold her up.