Page 50 of Heron's Flame

“I’m a gryphon,” Gunnar replied.

“A bear,” Fennick revealed.

“I’m a phoenix,” Banner added.

Royal rumbled his answer in a deep voice. “Dragon.”

Cerys let out a squeal. I got excited, too. Wow, adragon.

We both looked at Nico next.

He smiled, opened his mouth wide, and revealed fangs. “I’m a vampire,” he announced with a wink.

I gasped, and so did Cerys. The crow bikers took a step back—well, everyone but Heron.

Nico chuckled darkly, enjoying every reaction.

Falcon moved forward, eager to ask questions. “And you all live here? Did you become friends first? Are there more of you?”

“It’s an easy answer,” Brax informed him. “The seven of us have been friends for a long time. When I got stationed here, I told this lot. There are other shifters in and around the Needles area. It gives us a greater sense of community, which I’m guessing you can all relate to for similar reasons. We work to protect ourselves and our families if we have them, not to mention keeping our kind secret.”

That made sense to me.

Heron and his club brothers were endlessly curious about Brax and his friends. They spent an hour firing off questions and learning all they could. Each of Brax’s group held positions in local government and public jobs in one form or another. Gunnar was a bounty hunter. Fennick, a park ranger. Keir became a game warden, and Banner was a lawyer. Royal served as a firefighter, and Nico was a paramedic.

Cerys suddenly began laughing. Contagious, it sent us all into hysterics. “Wait! Oh my God! Does that mean I’m into bestiality?” She looked appalled. It lasted about five seconds before she cracked a smile.

Clutching my side, I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed that hard for that long. We spent another hour with Brax, Cerys, and their friends. When we finally said goodbye, I hugged Cerys and exchanged numbers. Sure, it might have been weird at one point, but now, knowing how our men loved us, any worry had vanished.

I knew I had gained a new friend, and in my book, you could never have too many.

Chapter 16 Heron

“Fucking Christ, it feels like forever since I’ve been inside you,” I growled, crowding Rebel against the door after we entered our room.

“It’s been a whole day,” she teased, biting into her lower lip as my gaze dropped from her eyes to that soft pink pillow I loved to nibble on.

“Too fucking long,” I rasped, capturing her mouth before she could say a word to contradict me. Not that I thought she would since Rebel seemed as addicted to our sex life as I had become. If I had it my way, I’d be buried inside her at least five times during the day and all fucking night.

My personal favorite? Falling asleep with my hard cock still enveloped within her warm, tight pussy.

“Manu,” she breathed as I finally released her lips, but only to trail kisses across her jaw, peppering them in a pathway to her ear.

“I fucking need you, my Spark.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever stop wanting or needing you.”

Fucking perfect.

“Get undressed and face the door,” I ordered, stepping back to allow her enough space to shed all her clothes. She smelled like the fire we lit outside and gathered around as night fell on Brax’s property and the crisp, sharp hint of the evening wind. Like sunbeams that withered into moonlit tendrils but still retained their warmth, glowing with wispy promise and secrets. She reminded me of that first spark when flint hit steel, and the fire sparked into hungry flames.

My head dipped to inhale that intoxicating mixture of scents as her naked body trembled. Her small hands pressed flat to thewood in front of her, and I noticed her suck in a breath as she felt my body close her in.

“This is the way I love to have you. So fucking eager and obeying my directions without hesitation. Trembling with need and anticipation. I bet if I slid my fingers between your legs, I’d find you so fucking wet for me, huh, baby?”

“Y-yes,” she stuttered, fighting a moan as my palms gripped her ass and squeezed.

“Open wider.”

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