Erotica Harem

Setting: Nala’s house, the airport, car, and Willowbank. I felt there was adequate description setting wise.

Characters: I continue to enjoy reading about Nala and Gabriel. Gab continues to fight his feelings for Nala and Nala is often confused by his reactions.

Referencing:Here the reader learns along with Nala how this world operates. It was easy to follow and understand. I found it interesting.

Plot: Gabriel tells Nala more about the Vardo and other related things. She has her first run in with the killer. At least since the story began. The dragon tells Gabriel that Nala is his destined mate.

Grammar: It’s the same things I pointed out in the first chapter.
I focused more on the showing/telling aspect in this one.
The way it is now, you could probably divide the first two chapters in to four. However, if expand and show instead of tell, you maybe able to get more. Although, I find when I take telling out, it usually shortens my chapters. *shrugs*
There’s a lot of emotion and turmoil so far in these first two chapters and I would love to see you milk it for all it’s worth.

Just my Opinion: I pretty much gave you my opinions in the line by line and above. I’m really enjoying your story. The characters are fun to read about, but the seriousness of the plot keeps it grounded. Very good.

Sephina

Line by line:

Nala left Gabriel standing in the bedroom shocked as she went to check all the window locks one more time before grabbing the bag of food Gabriel had filled up and threw it in the garbage. I think this last sentence could be divided up. By the time she was ready to go, Gabriel had her two suitcases and was half way to the car. Nala protested that she could carry her own thingscomma but Gabriel barely heard the complaints over her thoughts echoing through his mind of how she liked the way he walked. He wanted to scream at her to stop thinking those things about himcomma but he kept his mouth shut and practically ran to the waiting vehicle. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t block her out of his head.

Gabriel had managed to calm down by the time they arrived at the airportcomma but the relief was short lived. Nala rep: walked with her ass swaying seductively and he wanted to think she was doing it to torture him but he knew it was just her way of rep: walking regardless of whether he was around or not. Other men noticed too and two men approached her as she rep: walked a few feet in front of him. He wanted to plant his fists into the arrogant jerks facescomma but that would draw attention and they needed to get out of timethere? as soon as possible. Their flight left in fifteen minutes.

Gabriel increased his pace until he was rep: walking right beside Nala and deliberately lied to her as he told her she needed to stay closer to him so that he could protect her. Hmm… Could you show the last few lines instead of telling? It worked though and she stayed right next to him which kept the men away but didn’t stop them looking. He couldn’t blame them. Her outfit screamed ‘look at me’. They had just arrived at their departure gate when they ran into a bigger problem than men staring. Airport police came up and requested that Gabriel follow them for questioning. They showed him a flyer that had his picture and labeled him as a dangerous escaped convict. That’s interesting… This may be another place where showing would be better than telling.

Gabriel could smell the slight scent of garbage on the man which told him the guard was workinged under mind control and he knew who’s. He managed to stall for time by pretending not to understand what the man meant while trying to break down the wall that was protecting the man’s mind from other influence. By the time he got the man convinced the man it was a misunderstanding, Nala had moved to the other side of the large room and was talking to an old harmless looking man. It was his eyes that made Gabriel concerned.

The contacts he wore couldn’t disguise the fact that his eyes were an unusual, as in, impossible, color. I think the last sentence could be reworded to flow better.He felt icy fingers of panic claw through his body to grip his heartcomma but he forced himself to focus. Even as he was shovinged past people to get to her, he was reachinged out with his mind but like the guard, it was blocked from his influence. Then something happened. She looked up and met his eyes and the wall came down. Without thinking of whether it would frighten her to hear him so anxious, he quickly ordered her to move away from the old man and towards the center of a large group of people and stay there. He told her not to talk to anyone until he got there.

Nala was shakingshook with fear but she did as Gabriel had asked, or demanded really. She would have refusedcomma but something in his voice told her it was best to do as he said. So, after excusing herself from the elderly man she’d been absently chatting with, she moved quickly to her right where twenty or so people stood waiting to board the plane. When she felt she was in a good enough position, she turned around and noticed that Gabriel was where she’d been standingcomma but the stranger was gone. Gabriel looked frustrated and he looked up and motioned her back over. The closer she got to him, the more suffocating the smell of rotting flesh became. She covered her mouth with her hand and squeezed close to Gabriel’s side.

“Do you smell that?”

Nala heard the question in her mind and answered him the same way. “Yes. What is it?”
I’m thinking you might want to put mind speak in italics or find another way that stands out from normal dialogue.

Gabriel sighed and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “It’s the smell of evil. That old man you were talking to was Broncestan in disguise. He can manipulate his body into looking like others. Only the smell would give him away. How did you not notice it?”

Nala thought back to when she was standing near the man and realized that she had but she was too concerned with what was happening with Gabriel to pay much attention to it. The fear that Gabriel might be in trouble overruled everything else. She asked what had happened and he explained about the guard then asked her why she’d walked so far away from him.

“I don’t know. I just couldn’t stop myself.”

Gabriel sighed. It meant both the protection spells Nala had on her were wearing off. She was in more danger than he’d realized. Now he had to get her to Willowbank soon before Broncestan was able to get toreach? her. He noticed that Nala was frowning and asked why.

“My head’s starting to hurt a little. Nothing important.” Then she decided to try being coy. “A kiss might make it better.”

Gabriel started to lean towards her before he remembered that he wasn’t supposed to be thinking of her as anything more than a job. That meant hands and lips to himself.

“How about some aspirin instead?”

Nala sighed and shook her head. “Nah, I’ll survive. Time to board.”

She didn’t say anything else until they were seated in the airplane and a handsome guy in a silk power suit sat beside her. She smiled at him and he looked more than interested. In just seconds, he had Nala giggling and blushing as he threw out the oldest lines in the book. Gabriel’s temper soared as he watched Nala flirting shamelessly. He didn’t want to admit that he was jealous but watching Casanova constantly brushing against her had him wondering how he was going to survive a six hour flight without hitting the man. Again, this might work better as show don’t tell scene.

The man used every opportunity he could to put his hands on Nala’s body and after five minutes, Gabriel couldn’t stand anymore. He placed a possessive hand high up her thigh and when the seat belt sign flipped off, he pulled her as close to him as she could get. It was sweet torture feeling her body molded to his even as he tried not to notice how perfectly she fit. He glared at the man beside hercomma but he didn’t back down. He placed his hand under Nala’s arm where his fingers brushed against the side of her breast as he tried to draw her attention back to him. Gabriel’s hands balled into fists at the kid’s audacitycomma but the anger soon gave way to concern as he noticed the pain rolling off Nala as she told the stranger she was tired and about to take a nap.

She placed her head on Gabriel’s shoulder and squeezed her eyes closed. It was then that Gabriel remembered that she didn’t know how to block out the voices. It must be excrusiating excruciatingfor her to be locked up with over two hundred people. He called himself every foul word he could think of for his stupidity and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

“You ok?”Aw.

Nala nodded then bit her lip as a wave of pain assaulted her head. Gabriel felt it as though it were his own pain. “What can I docomma baby? Do you have any pills to take?”

She tried telling him about the dried mint she kept in her pursecomma but the strength evaded her. Gabriel didn’t need her to say the words. He wasn’t comfortable going through a woman’s pursecomma but he forced himself to focus on Nala’s pain and he quickly found the vial. After requesting a cup of tea from a passing stewardess, he turned his attention back to his aggravating companion. He wanted to scold her for her foolishnesscomma but he decided the pain she was sufferinged was enough punishment. Maybe next time she wouldn’t be so careless.

He was sure he wouldn’t. While he stroked her hair and whispered reassuring words in her ear, he attempted something he’d never tried before. Summoning his strength, he envisioned a shield protecting Nala’s mind from all external influence but his. She stirred against himcomma but he wasn’t sure whether it was working or not until she whispered in his ear that the voices were gone. He gave her a slight smile as he stirred the herb into her tea and mentally explained what he’d done and how she could erect her own mental shields. She practiced blocking his thoughts and when she had the hang of it, he let his shields slip down, but kept his mind focused in case he needed to quickly restore them. Aw, see, Gab, it isn’t so bad being a sweetheart once in awhile…

She managed just fine which didn’t surprise Gabriel all that much. She was a fighter and it would come in handy when she had to go up against Broncestancomma but just because she could put up a mental block didn’t mean she was safe. It was only a mediocre shield, meant to keep out normal thoughts. She was in no way safe yet from the mental influences and thoughts of magickals-people with magick-but she would be soon. The shield also didn’t protect her thoughts from being read which is how Gabriel learned that she’d been flirting with Romeo to make him rep: jealous. It had worked enough that he was ready to smack a fist into the guy’s smirking face and break each of the fingers that had been trying to wander over Nala’s body.

He wondered why she wanted to make him rep: jealous and why it had worked. He wasn’t the rep: jealous type and hadn’t been since Rosa. He stopped his downward thoughts right there. There was no point in reliving the past when he had enough concerns about the present. Nala was turning out to be a lot more than he’d expected. She was able to drive him to distraction and she?knew it. Enjoyed it actually. A stray thought entered his mind and he felt his ego take a hard blow.

Maybe Nala was only flirting with him so much because she could. He shielded his thoughts so they could spend hours together without her suffering any consequences. She could be using him as a test dummy. He didn’t like that ideacomma but it fit properly. He really shouldn’t expect to mean anything to her just because she was starting to become something important to him. Something more than a mission; and that was dangerous to them both.

Nala shivered beside him and he pressed the call button for a rep: blanket. When he draped the rep: blanket over her she burrowed closer to him and half the cover fell over him. The shaking didn’t stop and after a few minutes he wrapped his arm around her so that his hand ended up grazing the underside of her breast. She moaned and started caressing the top of his thigh causing shock waves to coarse through his body. He wanted to yell at her to stopcomma but didn’t say the words out loud in case Romeo overheardperiod but she’d blocked him from her mind and he was out of options.

Her hand started traveling up his leg until she was caressinged his cock and it grew hard as her fingers became more persistent. Gabriel had to stop her or he’d come in his pants again so he leaned down to whisper in her ear for her to stopcomma but he rep: realized she was asleep. She wasn’t even aware of what she was doing. She’d probably be embarassedembarrassed if sherep: realized she was groping him while in an airplane full of people. While he called himself ten kinds of stupid for having taught her how to block him, he closed his eyes and invaded her dreams.

Her dreams were erotic and they threatened to take hold of himcomma but he held out and told her now was not the time for her to be thinking such things. He kissed her tenderly to soften the blow of rejecting her and then because one kiss didn’t seem to be enough, he kissed her some more before he told her to dream of other things. By the time he pulled himself from Dreamland, the flight was over and they were getting read to descend. Oh my gosh, this could definitely use more showing than telling! I really want more details about this!

Gabriel nudged Nala awake so she could buckle back upperiod and she flexed her fingers as her eyes slowly opened. When she realized where her hand rested, she looked up at him with questioning eyes still clouded with sleep. He remained perfectly still until she’d removed her hands. The plane hit turbulence and Gabriel’s arm tightened around Nala instinctivelycomma but it was over as quickly as it’d appeared and he realized he’d placed his hand over her right breast.

It was a heavy weight in his palm and he realized his hand wasn’t even large enough to cover the entire thing. He wanted to close his mouth around such perfectioncomma but the best he could do was squeeze it and mold it to his palm. She pressed herself closer into his hand and he thumbed her nipple until it was a beady pebble. His dick grew hard and he was just about to slip his hand under her shirt so he could touch her naked flesh when the pilot came over the loud speaker to give the order to buckle up. He came to his senses and obeyed flight protocol, not touching Nala again until they’d departed the plane and he had to keep a firm hand on her to keep from getting seperated separatedin the congestive airport. There are several sentences in the last paragraph that could be broken up a little bit. I couldn’t catch my breath…

When they were finally seated in Gabriel’s black Tahoe and were quickly closing the distance between them and whatever awaited at Willowbank, Nala found the courage to speak. She could feel Gabriel pulling away from her and it frightened her. She wanted to find a way to retrieve the closeness they’d shared on the plane and decided to start by apologizing for her roaming hands.

“I’m sorry for what happened on the plane.”

Gabriel spared her a quick glance before settling his eyes back on the winding road. “It’s alright. I didn’t think about the fact that you hadn’t been taught to protect your mind from everything. It wasn’t your fault so don’t worry about it anymore.”

Nala sucked in a breath and forged on before she lost the courage to correct him. “I meant about my hand, uh, touching you where it shouldn’t have.”

She blushed with embarrassment and Gabriel smiled at how young she sounded. Too bad she didn’t act that young.? “You mean my dick? It’s not a big deal. You were dreaming again and it got to you.”

She turned even redder at his easy acceptence acceptanceand then wondered what he meant by ‘again’. She hadn’t told him she’d dreamed of him before. How did he know she had and did that mean he knew about what had happened when she’d been in the shower? She tried to spare having to ask by reading his mindcomma but he’d blocked her out so she pushed her discomfort aside to appease her curiosity. “How did you know it wasn’t the first time I’d dreamed of you?” Hm… I would wonder if by now she, she wouldn’t suspect that they could share dreams… Here she seems totally clueless to me.

Gabriel sighed and ran a hand over his shaved head. “Because we seem to share the same dreams.”

Nala gasped. “But how? Did you know that last night while I was taking a shower, I masterbated masturbatedfor the first time. I thought of you while I did itcomma but I didn’t even know you then.”

Gabriel swerved at her declaration. He never would’ve thought she’d tell him something so personal but he was wrong. Not that he should be surprised. He didn’t know anything about her. She could talk like that all the time for all he knew. Even though instinct said she didn’t.

“Yeah I know about that but not about why the hell this is happening to us!”

Nala freaked. Saying she freaked isn’t necessary because the rest of the paragraph, you’re showing us she freaked. He knew! He must have been the reason she’d done it! She turned in her seat to look at him accusingly. “It was you, wasn’t it? The reason I did something I’ve never even considered doing before? Why’d you make me do it? So you could get off on having me under your control?”

Gabriel wanted to pull overcomma but he couldn’t find a safe place on the narrow road so he carefully divided his attention between soothing Nala’s fears and his driving. “Yescomma I got off damn itcomma but I didn’t make you do anything. When I showed up at your house last night it was late and I tapped into your mind to see if you were awake. I was hoping to make the introductions and be on our way then since you were supposed to be expecting me. I could tell right away that you didn’t know I was coming. No pun intended.”

He flashed her a brief smile and although she was upset she couldn’t help but smile back. I like that line. Nice.

“Anyways, I caught you in the shower and once I saw that beautiful body of yours naked, I couldn’t pull my mind away. When you started rubbing yourself, I lost all control. Hell, I ended up jacking off in my car parked across the street from your house. So you weren’t the only one who ended up doing something they didn’t want.”

Nala felt a warm heat uncurl as she digested the news that Gabriel was able to get off by watching her. She wanted to feel violated that he’d seen her do such things but she knew that he’d seen her, even last night when she didn’t know anything else.spaceWasn’t he the reason she’d done such specific things? The wording in the last paragraph is awkward. You might try to play around with it a bit.

“You’re the reason I played with my nipple and rubbed myself the way I did.”

It wasn’t a question and Gabriel had to fight hard to keep the memories at bay. “Yeah. When I saw your breasts, I started thinking about putting my mouth over them and your nipples hardened right along with my cock. Then when you started fingering yourself, I wanted to see you come so I told you how to do it just right so you’d orgasm while I watched.” Wow, pretty blunt, ain’t he. At this point, I wouldn’t think they have to keep much from each other…

Nala felt moisture pool at her center when he talked so erotically. She wanted him to take her then and therecomma but she knew without even asking what his answer would be so she switched to a safer subject.

“So, tell me about this place we’re headed. Willowbank?”

Relief showed on his face that she hadn’t pursued her thoughts. Not that he would tell her now, but he wasn’t sure he would’ve been able to turn her down. He quickly lauched into a detailed story of Willowbank and its history. A safe enough subject to give his libido time to cool down.

“Willowbank is a castle that was built in 1553 by Baron Jasper Doogal. He planned for it to be filled with children but he and his wife only had one so when his son was twenty, he arranged a marriage with a local merchant that would leave both families prosperiousprosperous and him with a bundle of grandchildengrandchildren to dote on. Long sentence He died just a year after his son wed and his wife followed shortly after. Neither of them knew that their son ended up unhappy in his marriage to a cold hearted woman. In 1590, a band of Gypsys, magickal Gypsys, camped out on his land just a short distance from his home. Margo-William’s wife-didn’t like the idea of such filth on her land and ordered to have them sent away or killed.

quotesWilliam heard about the orders from his head guard and overruled such nonsense. He visited the clan and met Ramera Rosenbaum, Princess of the Gypsys. He fell in love at first sight although he tried to reject it. She was only nineteen and such a beatifulbeautiful girl that he felt she deserved someone much younger and unmarried to be with. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to keep away and even extended to her father King Wolfram that they were welcome as long as they wished.”

Gabriel paused to glance at Nala and saw that she was enraptured. He was willing to bet she’d cry when he got to the sad part. He looked at the road again as he continued the heartbreaking story.

“William started spending all his time with the Gypsys and within two weeks he and Ramera became lovers. He wanted to marry her but there was no such thing as divorce back then Well, that’s not exactly true. It may have been frowned upon and such, but it could be done. And if this is happening in England, it’s after Henry VIII separated from the Catholic Church. Thus, making it a bit easier for people to divorce. Not the people you talk about would get one, it still wasn’t something people were encouraged to do. Sorry. Didn’t mean to babble there. so they kept their affair a secret. When Ramera became pregnant with his child, he was thrilled. He and his wife had never had children. Queen Sobirana informed him that it was because a child could only be concieved convincedwhen people loved each other so. She and her husband arranged for Ramera to marry a family friend Woodrow Marco so he could pretend the child was his.

quotesThe marriage was a coverhyphenup because Sobirana had seen a vision that the Baron’s wife was going to order her husband’s bastard child to be killed along with its mother. They hoped that if the woman didn’t know which pregantpregnant woman was his lover, that Ramera would be safe. When William received word that his child had been born, he rushed off to be with Ramera and welcome his child. Margo had someone follow him and right as William got to where Ramera was cleaning up at the river, an arrow pierced through her heart.”

Gabriel heard Nala gasp and then her breath escaped on a sob. He glanced over and saw that tears were streaming down her face. He wondered whether she would want to hear the rest since it was even saddercomma but she gave him a watery smile and pleaded with him to continue. After a second to study her face and a deep breath, he hurried on with the rest of the tragic story.

“As Ramera’s spirit left her body, a large weeping willow tree sprang up out of the ground at the base of the river. All of the Gypsys mourned the loss of such a young life and as one tear from each of them fell to the ground, a new willow tree sprang up. The Queen chanted an ancient spell and the band of trees became an invisible wall of protection against evil. She also placed a protection spell on the baby that kept her safe until she was twenty five.

quotesAfter the Baron spent hours grieving the loss of his soul mate, Sobirana explained to him about the uniqueness of his daughter and how important it was that no one find out about it. He agreed that it was best if she was to be raised as the daughter of Ramera’s friend Lucia and her husband Davros. The two moved to the castle along with their two year old son. An older couple was sent along to teach the baby everything she’d need to know about the magickal powers she’d inherited. Ramera’s husband, Woodrow went along as the baby’s bodyguard. He was the first Graida.

quotesSobirana knew that they would not survive that night so she sent the baby away immediately. Under the cover of darkness, the fourty fortyone Gypsys still at the camp were slaughtered in their sleep. The Baron never learned who did the killing but he did find out that it had been the orders of his wife.spaceWhen he caught her trying to stab his daughter, he killed her. He had a new wing built onto his castle that he named The Vardo which means ‘caravan’ in Gypsy to honor those that had been killed.

quotesThe wing was cloaked so that no one but magickal people could see it and his daughter could practice her magick without fear of detection. Over the hundreds of years it’s become a safe haven for all magickals who need protection or teaching of how to use their powers. Now there are over forty Graida’s and over a thousand people have been helped by the Vardo.”

Nala dried the last of her tears and concentrated on the present. “So, are you a Graida?”

Gabriel nodded and Nala looked at him discreetly. She wondered how he’d gotten into that line of work. Sensing her unspoken question, Gabriel answered with a half version. “My dad was a Graida. I saw him save a lot of folks. When he died my mom moved us away from Willowbank and I hated it so I continued my studies at the Vardo and became a Graida when I was seventeen.”

Even though he was shieldinged his thoughts, Nala could feel the pain emitting from him. There was more to the story than he was telling her but she didn’t want to push. “So, what do Graidas do?”

“We protect people who are in danger. If we can, we eliminate the source and if not, we bring the people to the Vardo to be trained in how to defend and protect themselves. We also go out and bring back people who are untrained and therefore a danger to society. We help magickal humans, psychys like yourself, and otherworldleys.”

Nala stared at him. “What are otherwordleys?”

Gabriel laughed. “Fairies, elves, and witches.”

Nala looked at him as if he’d grown two heads. “There’s no such things.”

“Actually, there is. There’s even more than one kind of fairie. hehe… I have a story on the fantasy board with fay… and vamps…We have a couple of different kinds working for the Vardo.”

Nala sighed. Things were getting stranger and stranger. “So, what are psychys?”

“You’re a psychy. A person with very strong, psychic ablities.abilities Those would be the only powers you have. A magickal human is someone like me, who has pyshic abilities along with other magickal talents.” oh…
Nala’s curiosity was piqued. “Like what?”

Gabriel shook his head. “I never reveal what kinds of strasis I have. Never know when I need to catch you off guard by using them. And before you ask, strasis’ is the magick that lets you do the things you do.”

“So what happens when I get to Willowbank? Will I stay there until you and the others get the guy that’s after me?”

Gabriel gave her a look as if trying to decide how much she could absorb. “Broncestan Milivak is a man of pure evil. He can’t be destroyed by anyone other than you. That’s why your uncle is so determined to get you back to Willowbank so you can begin studying. If Broncestan ends up killing you, he’ll have enough power to take over the entire world. No one will be safe.”

Nala frowned. “I thought you told me I was the most powerful person on earth? Why is he such a danger to me?”

This was the part he wasn’t looking forward to. “Broncestan’s magick isn’t his own. No one knows whycomma but he started killing members of your family thirty years ago. He steals their powers while they’re dying and a bit of each person’s powers transferred into you which is why you’re so unnaturally powerful. You’re the last one left. Besides that, he’s had years to perfect his abilities while you’ve done all you could to supress surpress yours. When your parents died, an elve elf? from the Vardo saw it happen. When Elam couldn’t convince the government he was a relative he sent someone to watch over you.”

Nala knew who he meant even though it hurt to think that the man she’d considered a father all these years was only doing his job. “I used to think I meant something to him. Is nothing real anymore?”

Gabriel wanted to tell her that what they had was real but he controlled his urges in time. There was no them and he’d be a fool to wish otherwise. Sigh. Stupid, silly man.As soon as Nala was safe, she’d return home and he’d be left at the Vardo alone. Nala wasn’t a woman he could mess around with and stay unattached. She had the power to do grave damage to him if he let her close enough. Not that he planned to let her get anywhere near him once he got her to Willowbank. Gabriel snuck a look at Nala and saw how dejected she looked and he didn’t like that she thought she didn’t mean anything to anyone so he told her the truth about Evander.

“It wasn’t just a job to Evander. His orders were to return home the day you ran away from the orphanage. Instead he spent four days searching for you before staging an accidental meeting so that he could keep close to you. You’d figured out how to shield yourself from everyone then but it dropped when you met Evander again. He must have made you feel safe. When he learned you were in danger, he demanded that you be brought to Willowbank where he knew you’d be safe. He chose me for the job because I felt I could get the job done beter betterthan anyone else.”

He gave a disgusted laugh. “At first, I thought he meant that I wouldn’t downplay the amount of danger you were in just to keep from scaring youcomma but now I know he meant that I was the safest because I wouldn’t get involved with you while I’m your protector. Or, he thought you two were a perfect match. Any other guy I know would take one look at you and would be so busy trying to screw you that they’d forget they were supposed to be keeping you safe.”

Nala sat there confused. Was Gabriel saying in a round about way that the only reason he was keeping his distance from her was because he was supposed to be protecting her? Or did she really mean absolutely nothing to him? Before she had time to ask the question, she heard Gabriel give a self-disgusted snort.

“I wonder what Evander would say if he knew just how unprofessional I’ve been. He’s liable to have me hanged if he found out I had my hands all over you and want to do a lot more than that. So much for professional detachment.”

Nala smiled. He admitted that he still wanted her! She didn’t think he meant to and she didn’t want to hear him say it was a mistake so she turned his attention to something else.

“Is that your way of hinting that you don’t want anyone to know about our dreams or what happened in the kitchen?”

Gabriel shot her an appalled look. Why would he want people to know such intimate things about him? And the thought of someone trying to see the things he’d seen Nala do made him see red. His voice came out sounding a bit more menacing than he’d plannedcomma but Nala didn’t seem fazed. “Yeah, that’s what I mean.”

Nala nodded in understanding. Gabriel didn’t see the teasing light come into her eyes. “I’ll be sure and only tell about when I was in the shower and the thing you did in a not so private place. It’s really a good story.”

Gabriel slammed on the brakes as he jerked his eyes to her. He saw the smile and then the light in her eyes before he comprehended that she was joking. “That was very funny. You don’t tell anyone about that either. Got it?”

He sped back up and looked over to see that Nala was pretending to pout with her arms crossed over her chest which caused her breasts to be lifted up even higher from her bra. Gabriel’s gaze drifted from her lip to her breasts and then back again. Seeing that lower lip poked out made Gabriel want to lean over and nibble it with his teeth.

“If you want to bite on me, you might want to pull over first so we don’t hit that tree.”

Gabriel snatched his eyes back to the road and saw that he was driving on the other side of the road and headed right for a massive oak tree. He steered the SUV back into his lane and cursed his lack of self-control. He had to keep his eyes from Nala. She was too much of a distraction. While he focused on the road he wondered how she’d known what he was wantinged to do. Nala laughed delightedly.

“Because I heard you think it. So, you really like my boobs when they’re pushed up like this?”

Gabriel caught himself trying to look and cussed. He gripped the steering wheel in an iron clutch. He was not a horny teenager although he’d been acting like one since the second he met Nala. Now all he could think about was the almost painful urge to bury himself deep inside her and never move.

“You know, it might feel better if you move in and out because of the friction but either way would work for me whenever you’re ready.” hehe. I was thinking something like that.

Gabriel was stumped as to why she was ablespaceto read his mind so easily. He’d never had such a problem before. Then again, he’d also never had a hard time keeping his mind focused until he met that thiswicked woman. He needed to get away from her for a while so he could build his resistance back up. When he saw the turn off to Willowbank up ahead, he almost shouted with relief. When he told Nala they were almost there, she sounded less enthusiastic than she had earlier. When they were halfway down the main road to Willowbank, Gabriel turned to the right at a shimmery path. Nala gasped.

“Why is it doing that?”

Gabriel smiled. “It’s cloaked. This is the way to the Vardo, where anyone with strasis must go. If someone with magick shows up, they are automatically directed this way. Your mind will be probed and once you’re given the all clear, a chakra will appear somewhere on your body.”

Nala looked out the window at all the beautiful trees as she asked what a chakra was. Gabriel explained that it was a circle with sixteen spokes like a wagon wheel. Nala smiled.

“Courtesy of the Gypsys perhaps?”

Gabriel chuckled. “You are one sharp woman. Most people never make the connection.”

Nala basked in the compliment. It was the first one she’d ever gotten that didn’t refer to her looks. “I have my moments. So, is that a chakra on your right bicep?”

Gabriel glanced at her. The question didn’t seem loaded so he nodded. Nala leaned over to push his sleeve up to his shoulder while using her thumb to caress the black design. His muscle flexed in response. He cleared his throat but his voice still croaked when he spoke.

“Yeah like that. You’ll get one in a few minutes.”

Nala shook her head and smiled. “I’ve already got one. I’ve had it since I was little. The orphanage told me it was a tattoocomma but it must be the chakra.”

Gabriel pulled up to the clearing and slammed the gear shift to Park before turning to look at Nala. You’ve never been here so how would you have the mark? I don’t recall seeing it when I dreamed of every delicious inch of you was naked. The only thing that marred that beautiful body of yours are the freckles on your shoulders which really are sexy as hell.” For someone trying to resist her, he likes to needlessly point out how sexy she is…

Nala flushed as she remembered the vivid dreams in which she’d brazenly studied every centimeter of his firm, smooth body. He’d worshipped her body like a man obsessed. But he didn’t see the bottom of her foot. The chakra was on her right heel. She pulled off her boot and stocking to prove it to him. He tugged her foot into his lap for a closer look and as his thumb stroked over the sign, his fingers curled around the back of her foot and started massaging her ankle slightly.

The contact sent frissions I’m not sure what word you meant here…shooting up her leg and the air thickened with sexual tension. Gabriel felt the second she started getting turned on and an unknown force drove him to put her big toe into his mouth and suck. She moaned and twisted in her seat and Gabriel used his tongue to circle over and around her toe. When he bit lightly, she moaned his name. She begged for more and it made him come to his senses. With a last kiss on her heel, he climbed out of the vehicle.

He took a deep breath, hoping the cool air could extinguish the raging fire inside him while silently cussing his body, his libido and everything in between. Only one thing would calm the beast within him and that one thing could never happen. If he took Nala’s body, she’d surely walk away with his heart. Gabriel didn’t believe in love and he didn’t believe in happily ever after. The only time he’d ever been in love had left him alone with his heart smashed to smithereens. He wasn’t sure he was strong enough to put the pieces together again a second time.

So as soon as his protective duty was up, he was going to find a woman to exercise Nala from his mind. He just hoped like hell that he could perform with someone else or he was going to be in big trouble. Nala joined him then and although she’d pulled her composure around her, he could tell she was confused by the way he ran hot and cold. Hell, he was confused by it. A gust of cold air reminded him that Nala was barely clothed and he grabbed her hand to direct her across the foot bridge and into the waiting willow trees.

The ground shook and the branches bowed as a large dragon walked to meet them. Nala squealed in surprise and then went rigid as the overgrown lizard glared into her eyes. Gabriel looked at her then at his favorite dragon Rolfbane. He was impressed that Nala could stare calmly into the eyes of a mystical creature most people believed didn’t exist. When she didn’t move for a few minutes, Gabriel started to become concerned.

“How deep of a trance did you put her under?”

Nala turned to look at him then and excitement was shining in her aqua eyes. “I’m not in a trance. Why would I need to be? I’m not scared of him. He’s magificentmagnificent. Do you think he’d let me touch him?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. The woman was face to face with a fire breathing mystical creature and she wanted to pet it like a dog. Gabriel heard the dragon tell her that she could touch him when he was through looking into her mind and Nala readily agreed. She seemed to be adjusting well to using her telepathy to converse.

“Rolfsbane, do you know why I have the mark even though I’ve never been here?”

His answer was that she’d gotten the mark while still in the womb. Her mother lived at Willowbank until she was three months pregnant. Gabriel felt disconcerted that a baby could be judged before it had even been born.

“How did you know she wouldn’t turn out evil?”

Rolfsbane did something Gabriel had never heard him do. He laughed. “Simple. She’s the chosen one. Without her, the balance between good and evil will never be righted and the Vardo will cease to exist.”

Gabriel thought about that as he watched Nala’s hands caressing the dragon’s scaly hide. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of jealousy that her hands were on anyone else but him. Then he realized how stupid it was being envious of a dragon. Rolfsbane heard Gabriel’s thoughts and he probed his mind before connecting with only his mind and asking about his reaction to the newcomer. Gabriel explained how he couldn’t keep his hands or mind off her and didn’t understand why. Rolfsbane’s answer floored him. Some of the parts with the dragon are telling and not showing.

“She’s your destined mate. You can try fighting but the two of you will end up together. Why not just accept it now and get on with being happy?”Ha! Exactly….


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