His chance to do all that and more was only moments away.
Thad couldn’t wait.
* * *
Aura considered the sparks that danced in the wind with suspicion. They erupted nearby in a sudden flurry, then swirled around her like tiny brilliant orange lights. When they were extinguished, as sparks loosed from a fire are, even more replaced them—yet there was no fire to create the sparks. While she observed them, she felt a strange heat fill her body.
How could sparks create lust? Aura didn’t know but these ones did. She felt her skin warm and tingle, then a flush spread over her body. She thought of pleasure and sensation, hot kisses and ardent nights. She imagined a man, a handsome young man, with dark hair and dark eyes, watching her with a smile and an answering heat in his eyes. His chest was bare and his body muscled to perfection, his skin tanned, his intent clear. Aura swallowed, even as her body responded to this vision.
Who was he?
Even though she only saw him in her mind’s eye, Aura knew she’d never seen him before. His clothing was strange, but she was more interested in the man himself. She’d remember a man that handsome, no matter how long it had been. And why was she seeing him? As a nymph, Aura had the power to see through the guises taken by deities and shifters, to see all of their realities at once.
He had something to do with the sparks. Were the sparks one of his guises?
Aura decided to disperse the sparks. She built herself into a gust of wind, one so violent that it shoved back mist and cloud. The blue sky was clear overhead after that one breath, and the rocky mountaintop bared below.
The sparks, to her surprise, didn’t fade.
In fact, they followed her.
Aura blew down toward the mountain. She shifted shape in a glitter of silver and took human form, the hem of her white tunic rippling around her bare feet. The fog still dissipated around her, visible on all sides but at a distance. She could see a golden glow of light in one direction, and sparks spilled from it. One fell toward her, then flamed more brightly as it touched her. Aura caught her breath as lust shot through her, and she felt her nipples tighten. The spark extinguished itself but not before the man in her mind’s eye came closer. She saw the handsome stranger bend to kiss her, saw his hand rise to cup her breast, felt his breath against her cheek.
She wanted him with a vehemence that surprised her, even though she was a nymph with healthy appetites.
Aura stepped back and eyed the sparks. They weren’t borne by any breeze she knew, and Aura had thought she knew them all. A hot wind could have been her uncle Notus, but it wasn’t him. He was much older than the man in her thoughts and not nearly so alluring. Aura took a deep breath, and the sparks moved in response, changing their direction as if they would have her swallow them.
She hoped by Hades that the sparks—and the man—weren’t divine. She’d seen enough nymphs possessed by a deity in disguise then left to raise a half-divine child—or worse, cursed to take the form of a tree or animal. Aura didn’t want any part of that, but the gods could make themselves so irresistible that a nymph had little choice. The gods understood the desires that existed in every nymph, the love of pleasure, the affection for adoration. It was so much easier to never be noticed, but she’d succeeded at that long enough that she knew she was due for a challenge.
The sparks smelled of earth and fire, of a magic not common on Mount Olympus.
Aura felt her own body turning against her better judgment. She was tingling in anticipation of his appearance, already yearning for a kiss, even before he stood before her.
Who was he? Aura concentrated and a dragon replaced him in her mind, a dragon touched by a fire similar to the sparks that surrounded her.
He was a shape shifter?
Like her?
Aura had never met another shape shifter, other than the nymphs who were her relations. They were all women. A handsome man who could become a dragon, who created sparks from his presence and filled her with lust? This was a dangerous possibility, all the more so because it fascinated Aura. She should run, she knew it, but she wanted to see this marvel.
The sparks brightened suddenly, burning hotter and more yellow than orange. To her dismay, an answering heat filled her body, making her yearn for a man’s touch.
Not any man, though. Only the one in her thoughts. He was more clear to her, almost as if he stood before her, and she knew he was drawing closer. This was her last chance to flee.
Curiosity might be her undoing, and even knowing that, she didn’t run.
She heard him then, a creature flying through the mist without the least bit of caution. What drove him? A quest? A message? Or simple lust? With every beat of his wings, the passion within Aura grew and the sparks multiplied in number. She was overwhelmed with thoughts of pleasure. The air filled with a radiant and golden glow, one that seemed to Aura to be filled with anticipation.
A dragon of deepest black popped out of the mist in that moment. The golden light surrounded him and caressed the edges of his scales, making him look gilded. He hesitated in his flight, evidently startled to be out of the fog, and surveyed his surroundings.
He was magnificent, so graceful and noble a creature that one sight of him could never be enough. His wings were large and black, spread high and wide above him. His scales were deepest black but gleamed with golden lights. His eyes were like burnished gold, nearly glowing with intent. A strange flame illuminated his body, the orange color of the fire making him look even more primal and powerful than he would otherwise.
He was the handsome stranger in other guise. Aura could see his two forms overlapping each other when she eyed him, the one he had chosen more dominant but the other still there. Aura yearned to caress him, a desire that frightened her with its intensity. It wasn’t natural, even for a nymph, to burn with such lust from only one glance. She wanted to know how his scales felt. She wanted to feel the strength of his body. She wanted to touch him in both guises. The sparks were filled with a kind of magic. Already she knew the desire would only be sated by this stranger.
She peered into the mist, seeking a sign that she could indulge herself without repercussions. To Aura’s enormous relief, she saw no child.
She could have him.
With that conviction, there was no question of fleeing.
Aura felt his gaze as surely as a touch. His glance swept over her and he flew closer, seeming to savor his first look at her. His eyes glowed and he breathed fire, as if in anticipation. The glow heated to brilliant white, making Aura burn in a most primal way.
She stood with her head thrown back as the black dragon flew around her in a tight circle. His obvious awe made her want to preen.
It certainly made her smile.
The sparks were getting hotter.
Aura was getting hotter. She felt a lust building in herself that was beyond anything she’d experienced before. She was a nymph, not a vestal virgin, but this desire was sizzling.
It was a spell. It had to be.
Aura hoped it would last for more than just one taste of him.
The dragon flew closer, and Aura couldn’t help but admire his grace. He changed his posture to land right in front of her, and the light crackled as it became brilliant yellow. They were caught in an orb of sizzling heat when she saw a flicker of cool blue. It was almost like a lick of lightning, gone so quickly that her eyes could have been deceived.
But Aura recognized that shimmer. He was a shape shifter, just like her. She resolutely kept her gaze fixed upon him, wanting to witness the change. Just before his feet touched the ground, he became a handsome and athletic young man.
The same one she’d envisioned, of course.
The change was seamless and quick, accomplished in the blink of an eye and with the same elegance he showed in flight. Aura smiled at his prowess. The way he smiled back at her gave Aura ideas.
The flames that burned between them gave her more ideas.
They simultaneously took a
step to close the distance between them, then smiled at each other that their thoughts were as one. The light between them lit to palest yellow. Aura could feel perspiration on the back of her neck and feel her desire for him redoubling with every heartbeat. She wanted to run her hands over him and rub herself against him, she wanted to kiss him and taste him and feel this heat build to a crescendo...
He lifted his hand to her chin. Aura gasped at the brilliance of the spark that lit from the point of contact. Its heat surged through her body, melting her reservations and weakening her knees.
“I am your servant,” he murmured, his voice low and deep. His gaze searched hers and she smiled a welcome. She looked at his mouth in time to see the corner lift, then he bent forward and kissed her.
He kissed with surety, firmly but gently, a man who knew what he wanted and wasn’t afraid to ask for it, a man who could be turned aside with a fingertip. He wanted her to want him, too, and that realization dissolved the last of Aura’s resistance.
She was lost in his kiss and didn’t want to be found.
* * *
She was perfect.
The firestorm was perfect.
Thad didn’t even know his mate’s name and he didn’t care. The firestorm was right. The Great Wyvern had found the perfect woman for him, and he was going to satisfy the firestorm. Even his first glimpse of her had been enticing. She’d stood on the hilltop waiting for him, her white tunic blowing slightly. He’d been able see her slim curves through the sheer fabric. Her hair was a rich brown and cascaded in loose curls to her hips. It blew behind her, as well. Her lips were rosy and her eyes dark, her lashes thick. She was smooth and feminine and luscious.
Thad wanted her as he’d never wanted a woman before.
He saw her look at him and realized she wasn’t surprised when he shifted shape. He thrilled that there would be no secrets between them, then touched her chin and felt the heat of desire race through his body. When he touched his lips to hers, it seemed to Thad that the firestorm exploded. He saw white light and was aware only of the feel of her soft lips beneath his own. He smelled that sweet perfume and knew he’d be able to find her anywhere.
She gave a little gasp of surprise and he swallowed the sound, gathering her in his arms as he deepened his kiss. In one way, he wanted to make the satisfaction of the firestorm last as long as possible; in another, he couldn’t stand it. He wanted her and he wanted her now. He felt her hand on his shoulder, and her fingers slide up his neck to tangle in his hair. Her kiss was sweet and intoxicating, and he loved how she opened her mouth to him, inviting him closer. The touch of her tongue made him catch his breath. He liked that she was honest about her desire.
Their thoughts were as one, as they would be from this day forward. He had one arm around her waist and let the other hand slide over her cheek, to her nape, then down her back. He cupped her breast, convinced it was the most perfect size and shape, then broke their kiss. He bent to take her taut nipple in his mouth, and she moaned.
“I don’t even know your name,” she whispered, her fingers winding into his hair.
“It doesn’t matter,” Thad said, lifting the front of her tunic to bare her breast to his gaze. He flicked a glance at her and smiled. “We have to satisfy the firestorm, first.”
“The firestorm,” she echoed, then caught her breath when he flicked his tongue over her nipple. He caressed her breast even as he closed his mouth over the tight peak, suckling and licking as she arched back in his embrace. He felt her fingers lock into his hair and felt her heart racing.
His own heart matched its pace to hers, a sensation that made Thad dizzy. He was snared in a glowing orb of light, a slave to sensation and pleasure, wanting only to savor his mate and please her completely.
She tugged his hair. “What’s the firestorm?”
“This!” Thad straightened and caught her shoulders in his grasp. He watched the flames grow and spread from his hands, their golden light burnishing her skin. Of course, she would be the finest treasure in his hoard. His mate. His love. His partner. “This heat, this fire, this blaze! It’s all the firestorm.”
“And it goes away?” She pursed her lips, pouting a little, even as her eyes sparkled.
Thad smiled. “When we create a son, the sparks will die.”
“A son?”
“That’s what the firestorm’s about.”
Her eyes flashed then, but Thad didn’t think it was with passion. She stepped out of his embrace, putting distance between them.
“No,” she said with such force that he wondered who she was trying to convince. “There can’t be a son.”
“When we satisfy the firestorm, there will be.” Thad had no opportunity to present his plan, because she simply disappeared. He saw a shimmer of silver and felt a breath of wind, and then he was alone on a high mountain peak. The land fell away before him, and the clouds below had cleared enough that he could see fields and a coastline far below.
But there were no caves or trees. There was no place his mate could hide.
Thad turned in place, confused. Where had she gone? How had she vanished into thin air? Why had she gone?
He held up his hand, but the firestorm had died to a faint glimmer emanating from the tip of one finger. He held his hand before himself, turning, but the light didn’t brighten no matter which way he was facing. Thad felt a ripple of panic. How would he find her again? How would he fulfill their destiny together?
Why had she left?
Then he took a deep breath and smelled her perfume. A triumphant sense of his own power rolled through him and Thad used it to shift his shape. In dragon form, he took flight and soared over the mountain, seeking the trail of perfume.
When he found it, he found the spark of the firestorm, too. The light brightened as the scent grew stronger. Encouraged, Thad flew in pursuit of his mate, knowing it was fate that she would bear his son.
All he had to do was convince her of that.
* * *
There was a spring in a glade, high on Mount Olympus, shielded from the view of the gods by a hovering mist. The glade was protected from the curiosity of mortals by location: it nestled within a circle of jagged peaks filled with dangerous precipices and was prone to bursts of wind. The mist was perpetual between the peaks and an abundance of alpine flowers grew on the slopes. The spring flowed constantly from a crack in the rocks and flowed into a pool with a surface as smooth as a mirror.
The nymphs gathered here, lingering as their responsibilities and whims demanded. The glade was subjected to fleeting breezes, periods of light rain, fog and rainbows, as the nymphs came and went in their alternate forms. It wasn’t the Garden of the Hesperides, but it was much closer. Aura, in the form of a breeze, blew toward the glade with purpose.
She wanted to be with her own kind.
She wanted to know if anyone else had ever experienced a firestorm. Could she make love to this dragon shifter without conceiving his son? Aura was desperate to know. His kiss had done nothing to minimize her desire—in fact, she felt that she was filled with an even more consuming lust. If she hadn’t left him, she would have been entangled with him already.
To Aura’s relief, Nephele was in the glade. Nephele was as fair in coloring as the clouds she could become and knew so much more of the world than Aura. Nephele trailed her hand in the water as she listened to the gossip of the other nymphs, characteristically quiet and attentive.
One of the Anthousai was there, easily identified by the strong scent of hyacinth flowers. Aura didn’t know this one’s name but she was dark-haired and pretty like all her sisters. The flower nymphs looked more or less the same to Aura, and she found none of them to be very clever. They were sweet, though, and forgave much.
Arethusa was standing before the spring, her words sparkling as they fell. She was a naiad, a nymph of the fresh waters, and the fact that she hovered on the cusp of change was a sign of her excitement.
Aura blew near to their circle and changed sha
pe, even as Arethusa exclaimed. “She was one of us, but not immortal.” Droplets fell from the nymph in her agitation. “She called herself an Earthdaughter.” The other nymphs tried the word, then Nephele nodded to Aura. “She could make the earth heave and start an earthquake.”
The nymphs exchanged glances. “Like a goddess!”
Nephele snapped her fingers. “I’ve heard of women like this. They’re similar to us, but are mortal. They tend to stay in human form and live in human society. There was one I blew past a while ago on a mountaintop. She called herself a Waterdaughter and could change into a shimmering pillar of water.”
“But that’s what you can do,” the flower nymph declared. “Change into water.”
Arethusa shook her head. “We’re bound to a specific source. I can only come to you because the water flows from here to my well. It’s not the same as being able to wander around like a mortal and change shape whenever you want.”
“As a Waterdaughter, you could pursue a man, instead of waiting for him to come back,” the flower nymph said with a sigh.
“Or anything else,’ Arethusa said. She sat down, her expression revealing that she had more to tell. “Here’s the remarkable thing.” She looked between the nymphs, verifying that she had their attention, then dropped her voice to a whisper. “A man came after her.”
“Did she entrance him and seduce him?” the flower nymph asked.
“She was already pregnant with his son.”
“Impossible,” Aura said with resolve. “They never come back once we’re pregnant.”
“This one did!” Arethusa was triumphant. “He didn’t just come back: he sought her out.” The nymphs exchanged glances. Aura knew she wasn’t the only one who had never heard of such a thing.
“But you said you saw her in the Underworld,” Nephele protested quietly. “You mean he was dead, too?”
“No, he was mortal and alive, but he came after her.” Arethusa nodded. “He fought Cerberus and pursued her into the Underworld.”