I cracked an eye open and groaned. “We’re still here.”

Behind me, Nial mumbled something into my neck, nuzzling my skin in the most distracting way. The stubble of his chin grazed my shoulder as his erection prodded my lower back. Somebody was definitely a morning person, that’s for sure. Though, with Nial, it seemed like he was an anytime, anyplace kind of guy. He’d woken me twice during the night with his magic tongue and fingers, then proceeded to give me the ride of my life.

A large hand closed around my breast and squeezed, his knee nudging my legs apart. “Morning, sweetheart.” He sounded still half asleep, his voice rough and sexy.

“Mmmmmm,” I groaned, rocking back into him and arching my back. It was one way to take our minds off our predicament and what woman would say no to multiple orgasms…

“Ah, fuck.” Nial continued to curse as he rolled out of bed, leaving me sprawled on my back, wondering what the hell had just happened.

Pushing up onto my elbows, I watched as he braced his arms on either side of the window, looking out into the street with a scowl. My mouth opened and then closed with an audible snap. The light streamed in around him and from this angle, the muscular lines of his body were a feast for my eyes, his entire body stripped bare and revealed in all its devastating glory. He was powerful and strong, with a body designed to fight, his muscles dipping and curving in sharp angles that cut into his skin in all the right places. Dark hair dusted his chest and trailed down his stomach, leading my eyes down, his thigh blocking my view of the main event.

“You look like you want to eat me.” His voice was teasing, but hoarse, his eyes lit with the passion I’d felt from him only moments ago.

So what had changed? “And I thought you were going to eat me.”

His eyes dropped to my breasts, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. A smirk quirked his lips as he turned and prowled toward me. “That can be arranged.”

He was hard and ready for action, that’s for sure. This time, I was the one to swallow, desperately trying to unstick my tongue from the roof of my mouth. I’d had this man multiple times, against a tree, on the forest floor, in a bed, and I still wanted him every single time with a desperate yearning that sang through me, a physical tug inside my chest. I crossed my legs, the heat already building from just the look in his eyes. Okay, there was a definite tug inside other places, too. I threw up a hand and he froze, while I searched for words. “Why did you jump out of bed like your ass was on fire?”

Sweeping a hand over his head, he avoided my eyes, searching the room for an answer.

“Uh huh. No secrets, right? You’re mine, I’m yours, yada yada,” I stated firmly, punctuating the words with my hands. “We’re mated now, right? That’s for life.” Ella had briefly filled me in on some of the facts while the men had been arguing and the thought had both intrigued and scared the ever living hell out of me. But that was then, when I still thought I was dreaming and hadn’t admitted that Nial was it for me. Because he was. When I’d been ripped away from him, it had been like a physical hurt. An ache in my chest where he should be. He might not be able to claim me properly, because of that damn prophecy, but in my heart we were as good as mated.

His eyes flicked to mine, then slid away again.

Jumping from the bed, I hustled over to him and poked him in the chest. “What aren’t you telling me?”

He caught my hand before it could prod him again, bringing my finger to his lips and pressing a kiss on the tip. “Hold your pendant and think of home, sweetheart.”

Nipping off my soft sigh, which was completely inappropriate and totally his fault for being so sexy and catching me off guard, I plucked my pendant up and held it out in front of me. “Do you want me to say ‘there’s no place like home’ as well?”

At his blank look, I rolled my eyes and gave him a hint. “I don’t have any red shoes and my name is not Dorothy.”

“And I’m definitely not Toto,” he quipped, catching on.

Deciding to humor him, I closed my eyes and pictured my apartment.

“Use your power at the same time,” he murmured, his hand still on my hip.

I opened one eye. “What if I leave you behind?”

“Then come back for me.” He didn’t sound concerned, which he really should be. I mean, he was trusting a woman who fell over her own feet at least five times a day. I frowned.

“That’s it, concentrate, sweetheart.”

I opened my eyes. “I’m not concentrating. I’m thinking about the fact that I’m not a klutz anymore.”

I expected him to shake his head, or berate me, but he only tilted his head, a question in his eyes. “When did this stop?”

I thought back, casting my mind over the last week. Then further back, trying to remember the last real clumsy episode. “A week or so ago,” I decided.

“Maybe around the time we met?” He sounded hopeful, though I couldn’t imagine why.

“Maybe you’re my lucky charm?”

“Or maybe your powers grew? Or stabilized?”

“You mean the power that we don’t have a clue— Oh!” I remembered the flying twigs and stones and filled him in. I concentrated. “You’re not floating.”

He grinned at the whine in my voice. “You sound disappointed.”

“I’m trying to make you float.”

“You’re using your power?” At my nod, he glanced at my hand, which was still holding the pendant, and shook his head. “No Dorothy moment, then.” He pulled me down into a chair and settled me on his lap. “Maybe you can’t affect living things?” He pointed at a lamp. “Try that.”

It took everything I had to ignore the fact that I was sitting on top of him naked, and he chuckled at my unconscious squirm, tightening his grip around me until I was still. Nipping my shoulder, he growled against my skin. “We’ll get to that part soon enough, sweetheart.”

Already over this whole power thing, I stared at the lamp willing the air around it to lift it off the ground. Nothing. Okay. This was getting us nowhere. Damn lamp just wouldn’t float like it was supposed to so I could get laid. Silly thing was supposed to be as light as air and—

My mouth dropped open as the lamp drifted up, as if pulled by invisible strings.

“How are you doing that?” Nial’s voice whispered in my ear, pitched low so as not to disturb me.

“I thought it lighter,” I whispered back.

“Well done,” he replied, kissing my cheek. Then he stiffened. “Wait, it’s got to be related to its density. You manipulate it. Can you make it heavy?”

I focused my thoughts, shaping a heavy weight inside my mind while pulling on that strange power, and the lamp crashed back onto the dresser, cracking the wood and disappearing inside. “Oops!”

The door flew open. Mac snarled, braced for a fight. He averted his eyes immediately, not that it made a difference, Nial had spun me around and pressed me against his back, hiding me from view.

“Sorry, man,” Mac said. His gaze fell on the dresser. “What the fuck?”

“I’ll buy you a new one,” Nial stated.

Mac shook his head, letting out a low whistle, backing out of the room. “Kinky, I like it.”

“Wait!” I called out before he had chance to close the door. “Thank you for looking out for me.”

Peering around Nial’s broad back, I saw Mac nod, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. “Anytime, sweetheart. If I don’t see you again, take care of each other.” The door shut with a click.

“I know what the prophecy means.” At Nial’s words every other thought flew straight out of my head.

“Care to share?”

The look on his face was pure hunger, raw and intoxicating. “Better yet, I’ll show you.” Taking my hand, he led me to the bed. “Do you know how a shiften claims his mate?”

At my soft gasp, he moved me in front of him so I leaned back against him, hands clamped on my hips. His thick erection slid between us, hardening as he whispered in my ear, his words a soft tease as he explained exactly what it would do to him, how he would react. Trailing his hand up my body, he pinched my nipple, his teeth grazing my neck. “I worship you, Blue. Let me claim you as a wolfen does?” His other hand slid between my legs, his thumb rubbing at that sensitive spot that always reduced me to a gibbering wreck. “I love you. Let me show you how much.”

He appeared to be waiting for an answer and I couldn’t get anything out but a squeak.

Well, actions speak louder than words.