The enticing scents of lemon and vanilla surround me as I cradle Melody against my chest. For the last hour, I've watched the sky brighten and dawn sunlight reflect on the glass-like lake visible out the french doors leading from her bedroom and onto the balcony and start of the widow's walk of my little writer's Victorian-style home. As much as I want to wake her, to enjoy the pleasure of her curvaceous body and those pleading moans I so love to draw from her, she's mortal and fragile. Dark lashes frame a slight purpling under her eyes. She needs her rest, and perhaps I've been too demanding of late. But Norns, it's been hard to keep from touching, from tasting, from taking her after the time apart.

Still, I've been greedy for her time and attention this past week. Hard to believe she'd doubted my desire for her, but surely I've laid that to rest now. Unable to stop myself, my fingers glide over her silky hair recalling her teary blissful expression last evening as I fisted those long locks and drove my cock down her throat. The clench of muscle swallowing around me and clever tongue flicking over my slit that had my seed erupting to paint her delicious plump lips, reddened and wet from my use. Yes, I should let her sleep, even as my unruly length presses hard against her ass, tempting me to shift her leg, to drive into her wet depths.

Fuck, she smells good.

Gritting my teeth, I force myself to shift away and release her too-tempting form. I might be a sex god able to go all day and night, but Melody isn't, as much as she seems to match my desire. Instead, I tuck the thick comforter around her to keep her warm in the cool air-conditioned room and slide out of the king-sized bed. She needs to sleep, and damn it, but I can't keep from wanting her. Better if I find something else to do for a while.

The peaceful morning calls to me, and with a quick teleport and shift to raven-form, I soar on the warm summer air. Even as early as it is, the humidity is thick in the air and no way are the skies going to stay clear for much longer. I don't have to be my brother Thor to feel the weather changing. Today or tomorrow, thunderstorms will lash the area and break the heat that's been building for several days.

Too bad. Running my tongue over Melody's sweat-dampened skin as I take her outside is one of my many pleasures. Not that sex indoors is any less pleasurable, but I do so enjoy taking advantage of her hammock stand.

My blue-black feathers ruffle and I almost falter in my flight, catching myself before I accidentally shift back to my usual form. Yggdrasil's roots, this woman has me obsessed. Forcing the erotic memories from my thoughts, I dive toward the lake and shift to a sleek, silvery salmon as the cool water surrounds me. Perhaps I should give Melody the day to write instead of hovering over her as I have the past ten days. It's been difficult to give her any space, any time to herself, although I did manage to amuse myself with a book for a few hours yesterday when she wanted to write.

And that reminds me. I didn't get a chance to sneak a peek at her latest chapters. With a powerful swish of my body and tail, I leap from the water and shift back to a raven. Now is the perfect time to access her laptop. I glance at the rising sun. Yes, she'll still be sleeping for another couple of hours.

Although I can teleport the distance back to her house, I take the time to fly, to calm the rapid beating of my heart. I know I shouldn't look ahead in her writing but I've never been good at denying my curiosity. My little writer is taking me on an emotional journey in the story universe she's created, and while I appreciate her storytelling, part of me wants to turn her over my knee to spank her ass red for it. She had far too smug a look on her expressive face when she closed her laptop yesterday... until I shoved that same computer out of the way and fucked that sassy mouth of hers into submission as she knelt on her chaise.

I stumble slightly as I shift and land in her yard, adjusting my unrepentantly hard cock. Even the flight and swim haven't managed to dampen my desire for her. My fists clench, forcing my teleport to her office and not upstairs to her bedroom where I'd like to roll her onto her hands and knees to take her with all the animalistic need firing my body.

No, instead, I pick up her laptop and flip open the screen to find the Scrivener file. But before I can start to read, a calendar notification pops up for today, and I stagger, heart in my throat and ice freezing my breath.

4:00 pm. Date with Stan, Lakefront Park.

A/N: available now for preorder. Release date: August 19, 2024