Midsummer's Night

Bard’s Tales: Midsummer’s Night Lia Connor All rights reserved. Copyright ©2008 Lia Connor Warning: The unauthorize...

Author: Connor Lia

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Bard’s Tales: Midsummer’s Night Lia Connor All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2008 Lia Connor

Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is

illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary

gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison

and a fine of $250,000.

ISBN: 978-1-59596-976-7

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Publisher:

Changeling Press LLC

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Martinsburg, WV 25402-1046

www.ChangelingPress.com

Editor: Margaret Riley

Cover Artist: Bryan Keller

This e-book file contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language which some may find offensive and which is not appropriate for a young audience. Changeling Press E-Books are for sale to adults, only, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

Bard’s Tales: Midsummer’s Night Lia Connor A Midsummer’s Night Game… Every year on Midsummer’s Night a shapeshifter and a Shamaness mate to bring luck to all the shifters in the coming year. They’re chosen by the moon, and find one another out of instinct. This year, it’s not that easy. Tiana, the chosen Shamaness, is intrigued to find that fate has not one but three lucky mates chosen for her. Oberon, Puck and Maelwys are the three sexiest, most desirable… and unfortunately, the most stubborn shapeshifters in the big city. It’s up to Tiana to knock some sense into them. Tiana’s more than woman enough for the job. She’ll have those three in her bed by morning, or die trying. And Tiana never says die!

Prologue Today was going to be a day to remember -- and even better, a night Tiana would never forget. Tiana knew it the moment she opened her eyes to see the eastern light of dawn streaming through her bedroom window. The window, which she always left open -- always -- let in a smooth wave of air that washed over her while she slept all night, and carried with it a smell that had given her the most erotic, exotic dreams of her life. She woke with her pussy wet and aching and her breasts full, her lips tender and sore as if she’d spent all night using them on a man’s mouth and cock. She rumpled up her sleep-messy curls and yawned, stretching out the soreness she’d acquired from her dreams, wishing she could remember more about them than glimpses of men with strong, fair limbs, hands both elegant and rough, and dark, dark eyes that seemed to know all her secrets. Tiana slipped out of bed and walked toward her window, throwing it open wide to catch more of the yummy fragrance on the breeze. She inhaled deeply, smelling the spiciness of cologne, the salty tang of sweat licked off a man’s chest, and the dark musk of sex. Sometimes it was a good life, being a Shamaness for urban shapeshifters. Or, if one didn’t want to be poetic about it at all, a witch who rode herd on the rowdy boys and whipped ’em back into line when they got out of hand. She’d seen things and done things most people never even thought of dreaming of, and it never got boring. There was always some new adventure right around the corner. She’d long ago decided nothing would ever surprise her again. Today, though, she discovered she’d nearly proven herself wrong. The change in the air that flowed over her was a surprise and a sign. Every year, on the eve of Midsummer’s Night, Mother Earth would choose a pair among all her shifting children

Lia Connor

Bard’s Tales: Midsummer’s Night

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and bring them together. They’d be compelled to kiss, to touch and to make love until the dawn rose the next morning. Their union would ensure another year of luck for the shifters, which they needed more and more as the world got smaller and more crowded. She’d never heard of Mother Earth choosing a non-shifter for this role, although when she thought about it Tiana figured it didn’t not make sense to choose the Shamaness. In that role, she did as much for and with the shifters as any of them who could sprout fur and grow claws. So why not? Interesting. Tiana cupped the weight of her breasts and idly rolled the nipples, looking out the window. She was confident that no one could see her, but even if they had been able to, she wouldn’t have cared. She had plans to make. Today, she’d find her mate, or he’d find her. It wouldn’t be easy for any of them. Shifters could be wild, dangerous and headstrong. Could be. The one thing they would be, without a doubt, was hellaciously good at sex. Came with the territory, or so she’d heard. Heck, so she’d seen, more than once. Shifters weren’t shy, either. And now she’d have one of her very own to enjoy during the whole of the longest night of the year. Tiana faced the day with a secretive, impish grin curving her lips. “Today is the first day of the rest of my life,” she murmured. “Let the games begin.”

Chapter One Tiana found her usual place in a sunny, multi-tiered plaza in the heart of downtown, her favorite spot to eat lunch. She had no other plan -- at first -- than to eat her sandwich and her apple and daydream about satisfying her growing need to find her mate, mount him and ride him off into the sunset. She wiggled, pressing her thighs together to try and ease the persistent need in her wet pussy. That had been her plan. However, not a full minute after Tiana sat down, the mating scent still heavy in the air took on a new heaviness, tingling in her lungs when she breathed. She shivered, a fine trembling in all her muscles, and knew that finally, finally her mate had found her. She looked up slyly, checking out the professionals and day workers moving through the Plaza, wondering who he’d be. Of course, “her” man would be pre ordained, but since he seemed to be taking his own sweet time with the introductions, nothing said she couldn’t keep herself entertained with “what-if” guessing games. She wondered who, amongst all these fine, sexy young men she saw around her, she’d choose for her very own. Maybe she’d pick the brunet approaching from the North. Ooh, tasty. Tall, six feet plus, built like a force of nature. He was clean-cut and smoothly shaven, with eyes as blue as a summer sky. Her magic sensed his hidden shifter nature, something no one who wasn’t experienced would ever pick up, and pinpointed him right away as a gentle beast in his animal form. He offered her a shy smile. “Is this seat taken?” he asked, his accent lilting, unmistakably Welsh.

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“Be my guest,” Tiana replied, not bothering to hide the way she was sizing him up. A man of his size, with the firm muscles she could discern as he moved -- hidden by his office-casual button-down Oxford and neatly pressed slacks, alas -- he’d give her a wonderful time in bed. Hmm. Only in bed, maybe, although that wasn’t to say she didn’t think he’d be wonderful company in every other aspect. No, observing his polite shyness, Tiana thought he might be the kind of man who’d gravitate toward the missionary position and treat her like she was made of glass. Or he could be completely kinky and surprise her. You never knew, and that was the most fun part of all. She sniffed the air thoughtfully. He did smell wonderful to her, almost like the mate she waited for. Enough to give her a moment’s pause. It was there, but… not there at the same time. Strange. Frowning now, Tiana switched the focus of her attention to another man arriving from the West. Taller than Mr. Blue Eyes, his outfit less formal and his hands smudged with ink, he piqued her interest just as the first man had. He was definitely a shifter, too. He had the sleek walk of someone who knew what it was like to run, or maybe fly, as a proud beast. If he was her mate, would he make a good one? Tiana thought so. She spied a wicked sense of humor in the slant of his green eyes and a hint of erotic mischief in the way he gave her a quick once-over before sitting down on the stone bench to her left. He sprawled his long legs out indolently and stretched his arms across the back of the bench. “Mind if I sit here?” he drawled, the deep South evident in his accent. “It’s a free plaza,” Tiana replied, winking at him to see what he’d do. His sexy grin widened. “What’s a pretty Shamaness like you doing in a place like this?” Well. He’d pinned her, hadn’t he? She blew him a kiss. “Waiting for someone.” “It wouldn’t be me, by any chance, would it?”

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Tiana hesitated. He smelled, to her, as good as Mr. Blue Eyes, spicy and intriguing and darn near edible. Yet… not quite right. Not exactly what she was waiting for, although it was so close that she almost couldn’t tell the difference. The strangeness was beginning to baffle her as much as it fascinated her. If neither one of the two was her mate, then what business did they have waltzing around wearing the smell of a shared destiny? Nothing like this had ever happened before, as far as Tiana knew. Very interesting. She’d almost decided to ask the two why they’d come, hoping they might know what was going on, when yet another handsome stranger, also a shifter, approached her from the East, the direction from which the strongest scent of all issued. This man, dark of eye and rugged of features, barely nodded at her, grunting under his breath, before sitting heavily on the last remaining bench in the arrangement of four. His legs sprawled out in front of him, encased in a pair of working-man’s jeans, torn in places, splashed with paint. His hands and arms bore signs of motor oil and engine grease; he had a light smear of the same on his forehead. His skin shone with sweat and glowed with a tan acquired by working in the sun all day, every day. And handsome? Ooh, lord, yes. From the top of his close-cropped head of hair to the fine, fine shape of his powerful legs -- not to mention the promising solidity packed behind his zipper -- Tiana knew he’d be the kind of man to give a woman both the challenge and the ride of a lifetime, exactly what she wanted. Shorter than the other two, though not by much, he was built for strength and power rather than speed. In his animal form, he’d have strong jaws and sharp teeth and a bite to match his bark. This wasn’t a man or a beast to tangle with unless you knew you could put up an equal fight. He, more than the other two, smelled like a mate to Tiana. Her mate. And yet… and yet… there was still a little something missing. Tiana eyed him curiously. What on earth was going on here? She sorted through her memory, sifting through secret after secret the Shamanesses who had trained her

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had shared with her back in the day, biting her lip in frustration when it took longer than she’d have liked and still provided no answer. This wasn’t the way it worked. Shifters didn’t play around like this, especially not when it came to mating. And if they smelled like possible lovers to her, then she knew she had to have the same enticing aroma for them. Didn’t she? Before she could ask, however, Mr. Blue Eyes cleared his throat. “Roe,” he said, identifying his animal nature as a stag. It suited him. “My name’s Maelwys; it’s good to meet you. I…” He trailed off, frowning as if he were equally confused. The man to her left, wicked and impish still, tipped his head back and grinned at her. “Avian,” he said, daring her to react. Tiana wouldn’t have dreamed of it. True, most bird shifters were looked down on for being weaker and less predatory, but only idiots believed that. Just ask a mouse how scary they thought owls were; more, there was nothing like an unexpected attack from the air to change a shifter’s mind about feathers and claws. Since the other two had spoken, Tiana turned to the hard-working man in the East. He laid down his sandwich, a thick slab of meat on rye bread, and wiped his hands on his jeans. “Lupine,” he said laconically, crossing his legs. “And I don’t know what these two jokers are here for, but I’ve been hard enough to break something since I woke up this morning and smelled my mate in the air, all raw and ripe and sexy. Bet you had sweet dreams last night, didn’t you?” Tiana lifted her chin even as she shivered happily. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.” “I don’t need to figure out what I’m already sure of. What I don’t understand is what those two want.” He jerked his head at Mr. Blue Eyes and Mr. Mischievous, who clearly didn’t like being talked about as if they didn’t matter. Both men’s hands were curling into fists, and both were gritting their teeth. “How about I turn the question around and ask you what you’re doing here?” Mr. Mischievous, the avian shifter, demanded, a dangerous light in his eyes. “What do you mean you woke up this morning and smelled your mate? She’s not yours. She’s

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mine. I’ve been following her scent all day, thank you very much, so how about you find somewhere else to eat your lunch?” The wolf shifter reared back, baring his teeth at the avian shifter, but before they could forget themselves and launch into a fight full of fists and fangs, Mr. Blue Eyes stood, indignantly angry. “What is this, a joke? I came here to find my mate, following her aroma, and I found her. Right there.” He pointed, ignoring Tiana in favor of challenging his fellow beasts. “You think because I’m a deer I can’t defend what’s mine?” “Is that saying something about owls?” Mr. Mischievous retorted, his color running high. “You want to go, Bambi? Bring it.” “I could eat you both in one bite, so sit down and shut up,” the wolf shifter barked. “Someone’s playing tricks on all of us.” Tiana couldn’t help noticing that for all their fighting over her, not a one was actually paying attention to her. That wouldn’t do. She thought she had a decent idea what was happening now, and while it wasn’t something she’d ever heard of amongst shifters, well, she could roll with those punches. “I think,” she said as she stood, deliberately displaying her breasts and the shapely curves of her hips, “what we have here is known as a stalemate.” The wolf shifter turned on her. “Excuse me?” She shrugged, purposefully careless, and swept her hair back. “It means that if any of you want me, you’re going to have to figure out a way to win me. Or,” she added, glancing slyly at each of them in turn, “my preference would be for all three of you, if you don’t mind sharing…” Mr. Blue Eyes went pale, then pink, looking at Mr. Mischievous with new appreciation and then at the wolf shifter with uncertainty. Bisexual, she’d bet, although not too pushy about it. From the way Mr. Mischievous looked right back at him and looked to the wolf shifter with equal appreciation, she pegged him as having a lustier nature.

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The wolf shifter refused to meet either man’s eyes, keeping them focused directly on Tiana instead. “Interesting,” he mused, studying her. “You want all of us, don’t you? But what if I don’t want to share?” “Then that’s your loss, isn’t it?” “It’s not the way things work with shifters and Midsummer’s Eve,” Mr. Blue Eyes said, voicing his doubts. “I don’t get it.” “I guess the times, they are a-changing.” Tiana pretended to assess the plaza, even as she finessed the plot already bubbling in her head, a proper witch’s brew. Her blood sizzled with excitement. Good things did come to those who waited, indeed, and the Law of Three had never been so completely tilted in her favor. So to speak. “Fight for you, huh?” The avian shifter seemed to have made his choice. “All right. When and where? Here? Now?” “No,” she scolded. “Not in front of all the mundanes. Tonight, at the stroke of the witching hour. I’ll meet you here by moonlight, when the rest of the world’s asleep, and then we’ll figure this out.” “Decide who’s really your mate and who’s just confused, you mean?” the wolf shifter asked arrogantly, daring her to dispute him. Tiana loved a good challenge. “Or figure out how to get along. Because I’ll tell you this for free, boys: taken all together, the three of you make up my one perfect mate, and if I have my way I’m not letting a single one of you go.” The three men bristled. Tiana rolled her eyes. Honestly, men. Shifters! “See you tonight, boys,” she said, throwing the slim strap of her purse over her shoulder. “My name is Puck,” the avian shifter protested, standing. “My name is Maelwys,” the deer shifter reminded her, standing as well. “My name is Oberon,” said the wolf shifter, rising sleekly to his feet. The sheer sex appeal radiating from the man almost -- almost -- got to Tiana enough to make her turn around. “I already know your name, Titania.”

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“It’s Tiana for short,” she said offhandedly. “See you tonight, big boys. Get some rest and eat your Wheaties, because none of us are going down before the sun comes up tomorrow. Oh, and boys? If I could only pick one of you… well, let’s just say that the buck can stop here.” She blew Maelwys a kiss. He blinked at her, clearly startled, but then drew up with pride. “The hell you say,” Oberon snorted. “Not without a fight to settle this man to man to man.” “Mmm,” she hummed. “Sounds wonderful to me. Maelwys, I’ll see you tonight.” “We’ll be here too,” Puck put in, his jaw hard and obstinate. “Don’t forget about us.” “As if I could.” Tiana batted her eyelashes at them, turned, and walked away with her head held high, a song in her heart, excitement fizzing through her body like the finest champagne, and the sure and certain knowledge that she was going to have the sexual experience of her life that very night burning in her soaking pussy. She managed not to bounce with excitement as she walked away from the plaza, leaving the men to stew in their own sexual frustration and hopefully get all good and worked up so that when they met by moonlight all three would be primed and ready to go. Ooh, this was fun, and it could only get better. Three for the price of one? Who could turn down a deal like that? The challenge would be in getting them to understand what a bargain was on the table. It wouldn’t be easy, of course, but Tiana had a few tricks up her sleeve. She’d have those three shifters eating out of the palm of her hand -- and hopefully eating her pussy until she screamed -- before the night was over.

Chapter Two They all followed her, of course. Tiana would have been deeply disappointed in the three of them if they hadn’t each tried to stake their claim before the other. They did forget, though, that Tiana wasn’t any ordinary shifter, but a Shamaness. They wouldn’t find her. She’d find them, each in his turn, when she wanted them. Her little bombshell about Maelwys had been calculated to rev the engines of the feistier shifters, but really, there was something so appealingly boyish about the deer shifter. His shy ways and sweet smile spoke less to her of vanilla, now, and more of snuggling in blankets in front of a crackling fire and a hot cup of coffee brought to her in bed, and of being worshiped from the tip of her nose to the soles of her feet. Maelwys was the kind of man who’d cherish every inch of her and not think about taking his own pleasure before she was satisfied. Who could hate that in a man? Besides, he was just plain sweet. She approached him first, sneaking up behind him as he sat in a pokey, out-ofthe-way café, a paper cup of cappuccino cooling at his elbow and his laptop open to a the homepage of a quirky jewelry site. “Mmm, I thought you’d be that romantic,” she whispered, slipping her arms around him before announcing herself. “Hello, handsome.” He twisted around to look at her, alight with delight. “Tiana.” “The one and only.” She nuzzled his cheek. “What’s a nice guy like you doing in a place like this?” “I think you can tell.” Maelwys closed his laptop, picked up his long-gone-cold cappuccino, and turned to her. He sparkled with shy impishness as he carefully tipped the cup on its side and poured the frothy mess down his clean shirt.

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Tiana pressed her fingers to her lips to hold back the giggles. “What are you doing?” “Would you look at that?” he asked, innocent as a dove. “I’ve made a huge mess out of myself. I’m so clumsy.” “I see what you’re doing,” Tiana informed him, tipping his chin up and studying him. Such a sweetheart of a man. “I think you might have forgotten that most men would pull a stunt like this in the privacy of their own homes, where there’s nothing to stop them from taking off the clothes they’ve just ruined. And maybe then seizing the advantage over their lady fair.” Maelwys caught Tiana’s hand in his and pressed a kiss to the back. “What a silly mistake to make,” he said, lips tickling her skin. “I guess we’ll just have to go back to my apartment together so I can try and get it right.” Tiana could have clapped her hands in delight. Instead, she used his grip on her hand to pull him to his feet. “Class is in session.”

*** Maelwys had one of the best showers Tiana had ever seen. Vast and roomy enough for two and possibly even three, with double showerheads and enough hot water to fill the glass stall. Tiana would bet it could be pushed to hold four, and she had every intention of finding out before sunrise tomorrow. In the meantime, though… Nothing like a sneak preview. Tiana stood with her palms pressed to the steam-warmed tiles of the shower wall. Warmth centered between her shoulder blades, Maelwys’ long fingers gently tickling her skin as he washed her with a huge, soft sponge. She crooned in encouragement and arched her back, letting the evidence of her pleasure show as a happy shiver rippling her muscles. Maelwys’ stroking fingers traveled up to the soft, short curls of hair on the nape of her neck, the rest of her weighty mane tied up and out of the way. His warmth blanketed her all down her back, urging her to push back into him. She could taste his

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desire heavy in the steam of the shower. She knew he wanted her so badly he would, by now, physically ache for it. He knew how to use his hands, sweeping them lightly over the top of her ass, drawing a line up her spine, massaging her shoulders and slipping over them to caress her breasts. He traced the tip of his tongue over Tiana’s ear. “So what do you think now?” he asked, breath warm on her skin. “Do nice guys finish last?” “Not with me,” Tiana undulated against the solid heat of him, more than satisfied at the hard length of his cock pressing firmly at the small of her back. “But I still want to see how you run the race.” “I think that can be arranged.” “Turn around, then.” Curious, Tiana obeyed. The adoration she saw in Maelwys’ eyes gave her a brief moment of pause. Why… this wasn’t just about sex for him, was it? He liked the woman he saw in front of him, and mandated mating frenzy far aside, he wanted her to care for him just as equally; even more, though, he wanted to make her feel good. Maelwys brushed the soft skin under Tiana’s eye with the flat of his thumb. “What are you thinking about?” Without waiting for an answer, he kissed his way down, brushing each of Tiana’s eyelids with the softest possible press of his lips. Tiana shuddered, nearly overcome by the rush of his tenderness. “Thinking about how much I want this --” she fondled his firm erection -- “in me.” “Soon.” Maelwys sucked lightly on Tiana’s collarbone. He nipped the skin. “Don’t worry, I won’t mark you.” “I wouldn’t mind.” Tiana pushed closer, shameless and aroused, slipping her arm under Maelwys’ bulk and spreading her hand flat on his back. “I do love a strong man,” she purred. “You must be magnificent in animal shape.” “I could show you, sometime.” Maelwys growled playfully and wriggled down further, kissing Tiana everywhere all the way until he cupped her breast, licked around the areola, found her nipple and sucked it between his teeth.

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“Oh,” Tiana gasped, wrapping her leg around his. “More!” “Mmm,” he hummed, laving Tiana’s nipple with his tongue, trailing wet circles around it. When he let go without any warning, she could have cussed him out, but he spoke first and took her breath away. “I think I could fall in love with you, Tiana. I could love you so much it would hurt.” And he meant it. Tiana’s heart melted. Warmth pooled between her legs, aching for this deer shifter’s particular brand of tender loving care. “Thank the Mother for men like you, Maelwys,” she murmured. “I could fall in love with you, too. Shh, shh. Here. I want to try something. Let me. I’ll make you feel good.” She slithered down his body, heading for her knees. Maelwys tensed, despite the eager twitch of his cock, which knew far better than his brain what was good for it. “Tiana,” he said, awed. “You don’t have to. I was going to… for you…” “I know you were. That’s why I’m offering you this.” Tiana settled between his ankles and looked up at him, admiring the blueness of his eyes and his fine, fine body, and the big ol’ heart of the man. Also, his big ol’ cock. “Don’t tell me I have to talk you into a blowjob.” “No.” Maelwys drew his finger across her cheek, awed and honored. “Do it. Thank you.” “It’s so very much my pleasure.” Tiana trailed a wet, heated path of kisses around Maelwys’ navel. “Now hush.” Maelwys cupped her head gently, so gently. He arched at the first touch of Tiana’s tongue to the fat swelling of his cock, breath escaping him in a long hiss. “Your mouth.” “Shh.” In between licks and sucks, Tiana murmured nonsense at him, loving little croons and encouragements. She upped the ante for the fun of it, pressing a finger behind his balls, letting it travel, and bumping up between his ass cheeks. His cock surged between her lips and he stuttered through an aborted jerk of his hips, trying -such a gentleman -- not to thrust.

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“Wait,” he choked out. “God. No. Yourself. Use your hand on yourself. Let me hear you.” Tiana liked his reaction to the hint of ass-play so much that she decided to grant him his request. Besides, her pussy nearly burned to have something inside, even if it was only her own fingers. She closed her eyes and moaned with pleasure as she thrust two fingers in her pussy, pumping them in and out hard and fast. “Tiana,” Maelwys praised, short of breath. “Let me fuck you. Please?” She drew off only long enough to whisper back, “Tonight,” before latching back on, giving neither mercy nor quarter this time. Maelwys hadn’t had too many people giving him head in his life, she could tell. He was all endearing clumsiness and shaking legs, his strong hands holding onto her head and shoulder for dear life. The ungodly sexy noises coming from his throat almost drowned out the wet slurping sounds Tiana made sucking his cock. Give it to me, baby, she urged silently, wanting to see him let go. Taking his essence inside her would do more than give him release and pleasure -- it would bind him to her for the night. She could make him feel good and seal the deal between them without completely blocking out the owl shifter and the wolf shifter. She’d been serious about getting all four of them in this shower together, preferably after three or four rounds of raunchy, sweaty sex, owl and deer and wolf and Shamaness. Mother Earth had provided her with a ready-made foursome and there was no way Tiana was going to let this chance pass her by. She had plans, oh yes she did. When Maelwys came, she held him as he shuddered through it, and then squealed with delight when, as soon as he could breathe steadily, he spread her out over the shower floor and plunged his face between her spread legs. He kissed her inner thigh hard and fast before opening her pussy with two fingers and putting his tongue to some damn good use, licking her and thrusting his fingers in her soaking channel until the shower whited out around her and she screamed.

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She came to as Maelwys surged over her for a kiss, tasting both their essences ripe and tangy on their tongues. The shower water beat down around them, barely warm now. Tiana didn’t care. She was so full of satisfaction she thought she might burst, and she’d barely gotten started. Puck and Oberon still had their turns to come, and lucky Tiana, that meant so did she.

Chapter Three “I know what you’re up to.” Tiana, who’d been waiting for this, didn’t give Puck the satisfaction of flinching. Instead, she turned to him with her eyebrow quirked, challenging him. From the way he grinned, she thought he might just appreciate that even more. She adjusted the fit of her blouse, teasing him. Why not? She’d only gotten started with her taste of Maelwys -- literally -- oh, he’d been yummy -- and a man like Puck appreciated directness if you weren’t otherwise going to play his games. “And what am I up to?” she inquired. Bless his heart, he’d been waiting outside Maelwys’ apartment building, leaning on the wall outside the steps leading to the main door. Puck waggled his eyebrows at her. “I’m not rude enough to say such things to a lady.” “No, but you’re plenty crude enough to think them, aren’t you?” He laughed. “Nothing naughtier than what’s on your mind, I’m sure.” He nodded at the sidewalk. “Can I join you?” “You don’t even know where I’m headed.” “Doesn’t matter to me, as long as I’m with you.” “Why, Puck, you’ll make me start to think you’re a romantic.” “Nope,” he agreed cheerfully, “just want to stake my claim.” “Now I think you’re more of a caveman.” “Really?” Puck swung around so that he was walking backwards, the heat of his gaze smoldering, warming her skin. “Do you have a problem with that?” “Not as long as you’re prepared to put out.”

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“I like the way you think.” Puck stroked her cheek, moving down to circle his thumb over the pulse in her throat, and then down to cup her shoulder. If they hadn’t been on a public thoroughfare, Tiana knew darn well he’d have gone all the way down to her breast. It didn’t sound like a bad idea to her. He smelled better and better still, the richness of mate dizzying her, exactly as it had happened with Maelwys. Puck stopped walking, blocking her way, daring her to react. “Tell me,” she said, not bothering to pretend to be casual. “You’re an owl. Have you ever had sex on a roof?” “Never had anyone I wanted to take flying.” “Take me.” Tiana closed the distance between them and laid her hand over Puck’s heart, then trailed her finger downward. “Take me,” she repeated, changing her emphasis. Puck moved in to kiss her, quick and hard. “Hang on,” he said, taking a quick glance around. Not too many people, and those that were out and about were plugged into iPods or absorbed in their cell phones. “Up, up and away!” In the space of an eye-blink, Puck shifted from tall, solid man to vast white owl and hooted at her. Tiana climbed on his back and kissed the top of his feathery head. “Let’s go,” she urged softly, knowing he could both feel and smell the wetness seeping from her pussy where her legs were spread, straddling him. “Fly me to the moon and back again.” Almost before she knew it, one gleeful head-rush of a short ride later, Puck the owl touched down in the soft grass of a rooftop garden, his talons digging into soil in an almost gentle landing. Tiana slipped off his back and found her footing, drinking in the sight of the urban jungle at sunset. She missed Puck’s transformation behind her. He wrapped his human arms around her waist and nuzzled her shoulder. “You’re a wicked, wicked woman, Tiana,” he murmured into her hair. “You don’t waste any time, do you?”

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“Life’s far too short to dilly-dally when you know what you want, and you know that it’s right,” Tiana retorted, reaching around to tease the nape of his neck. “But let’s say that we were taking this slowly.” “That’s no fun.” “Hush. Play along, or I might just change my mind.” Puck grumbled, but Tiana could tell that she’d tickled his fancy. “What are the rules? I warn you, though, in my book rules are made for no other reason than to be broken.” “A man after my own heart. Let’s see…” Tiana pretended to think, despite having already decided exactly how she wanted this to play out. “I do love phone sex.” Puck snorted a laugh. “That’s kind of pointless when I’ve got you in my arms.” He fitted his groin to the curve of her ass, nudging the firmness of his erection against her. “That doesn’t mean I’m saying no. I think I see where you’re going with this.” “Good,” Tiana purred. “You first.” “If I were there…” Puck’s long fingers began to work at Tiana’s blouse, edging it up and flattening his palm over the slight roundness of her tummy, “I think maybe I’d see if you were wet. You’re not the kind of woman who’d slap me, are you?” “Try it and find out.” “Feisty, feisty,” Puck said, approving. He slid his hand beneath the waist of her skirt and skated downward to her pussy, slipping one finger in. He hissed. “Been thinking about this much?” “Mmm. A little, maybe.” Tiana bumped her ass backward, gyrating a half-circle, thrilled by his small groan. “What next? My turn? Are you hard, Puck? As hard for me as I am wet for you?” “Hard as hell,” Puck rasped back. “Damnation, Tiana. You’re enough to kill a guy.” She laughed triumphantly. “Good.” “One question. Are we actually going to fuck up here? I’m an owl; I like roofs, but…” He looked up. “It’s not exactly private.”

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- 23 -

Tiana hummed, covering his hand with her own and encouraging him, showing him how she liked it. “Call this a taste test.” “For you only, or for me, as well?” “We’re having phone sex, remember?” “Right,” Puck replied dryly. “I wonder why I keep forgetting?” All the same, he thrust against her, the hardness of his cock unmistakable even through his jeans and her skirt. He plucked at the hem of her blouse. “Could I…” “Patience,” she chided, growing short of breath. Puck had wonderful, nimble fingers, and she could already tell he knew how to please a girl. She guided him, increasing the speed and depth of his stroke. “Harder. Faster.” “Like this?” Puck breathed into her ear. He grazed her clit with his thumb and chuckled when she gasped. “I guess so.” He stroked around it again, thrusting two fingers in and out of her pussy. “Imagine what it’ll be like when we do this for real,” he whispered. “You’re so hot and tight and wet for me, Tiana. I can’t wait to see what you feel like so snug around my cock.” Undulating, Tiana guided his free hand up to cup and knead her breast. “Quiet.” “Phone sex,” Puck hissed. He didn’t fool her. His thrusts of fingers and groin were growing ragged and desperate, both their eagerness heightened to near madness by the intoxicating aroma of their mating. “Tiana, Tiana, that feels good…” Tiana twisted in Puck’s arms, unable to bear facing away from him for another minute. She drew down his zipper and insinuated her hand inside, curling her fingers around his cock. He swore under his breath but he didn’t miss a beat, cleverly finding her pussy again and pushing back in even as he thrust against the tight circle she made for him. “Close,” Puck groaned, burrowing his head against her throat and mouthing sharp kisses over the soft skin. “You -- Tiana, you -- so close. Don’t wanna. Not yet.” Tiana turned her head to the side, catching the lobe of Puck’s ear between her teeth. “But what if I want you to?” she whispered. “You want to, too. Feel how hard you are? Ready to split open. All that pre-come is dribbling down, soaking my fingers.

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- 24 -

I’m hot for you, Puck, so hot. Slick and sweet-tasting as sugar water. Aching for it. Burning.” “You,” Puck swore. “Want you. Want you so bad.” “Ah-ah-ah, not yet.” Tiana found her rhythm and used it to torment him in the best way ever. “Just think about it, Puck, like we weren’t even here. Still on the phone. Let yourself imagine how it’ll be for real -- your gorgeous cock sliding in my pussy. I’m squeezing you so -- tight --” “Feeling you around me. You’re so hot inside, it’s like fire. Smooth.” Puck swallowed hard. His cock spasmed against Tiana’s hand, painting his jeans with a generous flood of pre-come. “God, Tiana, gotta come. Need to come.” “Almost, almost. Touch me first…” Puck growled and bit down, leaving his mark on Tiana’s throat in time with the most perfect, rough brush to her clit that she’d known from any man. Tiana arched, releasing a long moan, clenching down on his fingers buried in her. She scraped hard over the head of his cock. He swore again, shuddering against her. Together, they rode out the waves. He hung against her, too heavy by far but radiating such ecstasy from what they’d done to each other that she didn’t want to chide him for overbalancing her. “Come live with me and be my love,” he begged. “Just me. Forget the wolf and the deer.” Tiana crooned wordlessly to him and stroked his hair. “You know I can’t. I belong to all three of you.” “Oh, not that again,” Puck groaned, thumping his head on her shoulder. “It can’t be helped. You’ll see. Soon, you’ll see.” She kissed his forehead. “Meet me tonight, and everything will be as clear as day.” “You,” Puck griped, “are so damned evil. You know that?” Tiana chuckled, petting him, glowing with satisfaction. “I know I am, and don’t you forget it.”

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- 25 -

“Best fake phone sex I’ve ever had.” Puck sighed. “All right. You’ve whipped me, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Whatever you want, Tiana, I’m yours. I’ll meet you again by moonlight.” He hugged her by the waist. “By every moonlight, if you want.” Tiana returned his embrace. “Perhaps,” she replied. “You never know, do you?”

Chapter Four Tiana made it almost all the way back to her apartment. To the entryway, even, and inside the doors, where to her pleasure she found Oberon waiting for her. She’d suspected he was the kind of man who wouldn’t let locks or bars keep him out. However, he did surprise her by refusing to move out of the shadows and come any closer. “You smell like sex,” he remarked. “You know, one strange thing about humans is that they never look up.” “And you do?” she inquired oh-so-innocently, waiting to see what he’d do. “I did,” he said, nodding slowly. “You chose the owl, didn’t you?” “Maybe I did, and maybe I didn’t. Maybe you’d like to try and win me before I make up my mind for good?” “So I still have a chance.” Oberon considered her carefully. “At least one round on the rooftops, and you’re still hot to go? I can smell how horny you are. You’re a woman made up out of pure fire and sex, aren’t you?” “Is that a bad thing?” “Hell, no.” Oberon’s hands twitched. “I think I want to know more about you before I fuck you, Tiana.” Tiana caught her breath, stunned by the force of her desire for him, not just doubled or tripled, but infinitely deeper than before. “Don’t tell me that shocks you.” “No. That’s not it at all.” “Good.” Oberon hooded his eyes. “Tonight, Tiana.” He stepped out of the shadows at last, shouldering past her and out the doors. Tiana watched him go, licking her lips. Oh, she thought, light-headed. Oh. Oberon’s self-control didn’t hide the ferocity of his passion. She’d known he would be

Lia Connor


- 27 -

the last bit of difference that made this arrangement simply perfect. All three of her shifters were such vastly disparate types, all perfect for her. All three wanted her as much as she wanted them. The only thing left to do was to make them understand that they all belonged together. Including him, the most stubborn of all. This was going to be fun. She couldn’t wait for the moon to rise.

Chapter Five “… clear skies and mild temperatures of about sixty-eight degrees with moderate winds from the West. Good weather for the local Midsummer’s Night celebrations as we move into the early morning hours. Expect to see quite a few partiers out and about tonight. Here to tell us more about that, WGT-TV’s own Tiana Chandler. You look like you’re in a festive mood tonight, Tiana.” “Thank you, Bob. You have no idea how good my day’s been so far.” Tiana’s eyes, the shade of dark chocolate, sparkled at the viewing audience through their television sets. She moistened her full lips. “It’s not the Fourth of July or Valentine’s Day or New Year’s, but revelers are out in force for the holiday on the rise: Midsummer’s Night.” Watching her through the window of Tomlinson’s Tellies, Maelwys had to say that as good as Tiana looked on hi-def flat-screen plasma, she was far, far lovelier in person. This was the best he could manage for the moment, though, as he didn’t have TV access. House-sitting supplemented income -- assistant librarians didn’t make that much, especially in underfunded schools -- but this one didn’t come with cable. At least not while the owners were in Europe. And he’d be damned if he wouldn’t take advantage of the chance to study his intended mate and figure out what made her tick before they met again. On the screen, Tiana rolled smoothly through an explanation of the historical significance of Midsummer’s Night, finishing up with a wicked wink, saying, “Revelers of all ages should enjoy tonight, the longest night of the year. It’s a good time to sweep out everything you don’t want and rake in lots of luck and love to make all your dreams come true. Midsummer’s Night: not just for Shakespeare anymore.”

Lia Connor


- 29 -

“Thank you, Tiana. For WGT-TV out of Varyn, New York, this is Bob MacRobert saying good night, and enjoy.” The station’s jangly signature music ended the broadcast. Maelwys exhaled heavily and thrust his hands into his pockets. He rocked back on his heels, studying the last image he got of Tiana industriously pretending to shuffle papers on the news anchors’ desk, imagining he could still see that gleam in her eye. No one else in the world -- fine, no one except he and those two other shifters -- would have picked up on the subtle cues of a Shamaness and a shifter calling her mate. Besides, who’d ever have suspected that a respected local news anchor was the most powerful witch in the county? He had to admire her style. Maelwys adjusted himself as subtly as he could, determined not to let his dick lead him to Tiana. Not that he didn’t want to change forms right then regardless of the risks of running through a busy city as a twelve-point buck and hunt his mate down -- his -change back to human form and toss her down on the nearest giving surface. Not that he didn’t want to plunge his face between her spread thighs and finger her wet and then lick her clean. Not that he didn’t want to stake his claim on his mate right away. He couldn’t be casual about the need to ease the pressure on his rapidly hardening cock this time. Luckily, Tiana had been exaggerating big-time on the broadcast and no more than the usual number of party-hearty types wandered the streets, most of those wrapped up in giggling with their friends or way too sloshed to care as long as he didn’t haul it out and wave it at them. Luckily, he didn’t have far to go from Tomlinson’s to the plaza where he’d met his lady by the light of high noon, following her almost-elusive but ever-richer fragrance, the first hints of which had enticed his sense from the moment he’d woken this morning. He hadn’t had any idea what it was all about at first, but when he laid eyes on Tiana a thump of recognition hit him straight in the heart and he knew: this gorgeous woman was his mate.

Lia Connor


- 30 -

Beautiful Tiana! Thinking about her and how lucky he’d gotten still had Maelwys stunned. There wasn’t a single thing about her he hadn’t fallen in immediate love with, from her long, soft black twisted curls that brushed the tops of her full breasts, to the plump curve of her hips, to the silky smoothness of her coffee-colored complexion to the high arch of her dainty feet. Her voice had been made for sex, throaty and suggestive of wickedness in every word. That whole taking advantage of the first available surface he could find and devouring Tiana right then and there was starting to sound a hell of a lot more appealing. But, no. Maelwys shored up his determination. He was a gentleman, damn it, or at least he tried to be, and in his book that meant treating a lady like a lady, not some random sex toy. Mates often married, though not always, and he planned to spend the rest of his life cherishing lovely Tiana. He had to make the best impression he could on her tonight. And if it happened to include the chance to taste her sweet pussy or slide his cock home deep inside her the way he wanted to, all the while listening to her husky voice demanding more, Maelwys knew for sure he wouldn’t say no. More like God, yes, where do you want me and what do you like best and you’ll remember this, and me, for the rest of your life. He’d make sure of that. “Fee, fi, fo, fum,” a voice drawled in his ear from an unknown entity that had come up behind him. Maelwys swore and twisted around, searching for the joker who thought it was funny to sneak up on a guy lost in thought. His balls protested the sudden movement and the sharp ache inflamed his temper. He’d have given the smartass a serious smack-down if, once he looked behind him, there had actually been anyone to yell at. Stopping in his tracks, Maelwys blinked at the empty space, confused. “I’m right behind you.” Someone tapped his shoulder. “Can’t you see me?” Maelwys jerked about a second time, facing his original direction, and saw -nothing. No one.

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- 31 -

“Uh-oh, too slow,” the speaker mocked, his voice coming from above this time. Maelwys jerked his head up in time to see the vast shape of a snowy white owl soaring past, its wingspan wide and impressive. Owls weren’t the pocket-sized balls of fluff most people thought of them as. A full-grown owl in flight wasn’t just impressive to mice. Not that Maelwys would let this shifter with a questionable sense of humor and the ability to throw his voice know that. Instead, he kept his cool and walked calmly to the plaza, strolling as casually as if he had all night to take care of this. The only hints he got of Tiana’s intoxicating aroma were faint, lingering in the air from when they’d met at noon, so he knew she wasn’t there yet. He didn’t have to worry about the owl shifter beating him to her. When he arrived, Maelwys took up a firm stance at the edge of the square with its four benches and crossed his arms over his ribs. He didn’t see the owl anywhere, but knowing this guy’s quirky sense of humor, he’d be waiting to jump out from behind a support pillar or something. “Do your worst,” he called. “I don’t give up that easy, and I’m not going anywhere, so we might as well do this like men.” “Are you questioning my masculinity?” The owl shifter, in human form now, popped up from behind one of the benches. Maelwys hadn’t been far wrong. He stood up -- and up, and up -- jeez, the guy was as huge a man as he was an owl -- and grinned at Maelwys, cheeky as a chipmunk, his smile broad and white in his tanned face. He tilted his head and inhaled deeply, deliberately. “Well now, isn’t this interesting? Is that an antler in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?” “Don’t flatter yourself,” Maelwys retorted, fighting the urge to be modest. He had a right to be horny; he was about to claim his mate. Which meant that this joker needed to clear out fast. “Who needs flattery to dress up the plain and simple truth? Mind if I sit? Thanks.” The owl shifter -- Puck, right, that was his name -- vaulted over the bench and sprawled insolently on the stone, his legs spread and his arms stretched out over the backrest. He studied Maelwys intently.

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- 32 -

Maelwys let him do it, but gave him a full helping of his own medicine, taking the guy’s measure. He’d admit that he liked men sometimes, not as much as women and nowhere near as much as he craved Tiana, but if he was going to be honest with himself, if he and Puck had met anywhere else at any other time, he’d have been trying to figure out ways to get this joker to come home with him. Unfortunately, as hot as the man was, he knew it, too. “See something you like?” Puck drawled, moving one hand to rest on his inner thigh. “Oh, now, what’s that look for? I’m not mannerly enough for you?” Puck deliberately drew his hand upwards until he could palm his own cock, a full and rigid line behind his zipper that Maelwys knew he should not be half as interested in right now as he was. He sniffed the air in sudden surprise. Puck’s scent wafted to him on the gentle night breeze, changed somehow. Before, all Maelwys had gotten off the owl shifter was soap, laundry detergent, the smell of ink and a subtle trace of cologne. Now, he smelled… good God, he smelled like pure sex. Maelwys backed up a step, staring at Puck. Looked like it hadn’t just affected him; Puck gawked right back, all his mischief dissolved in an equal onslaught of sexual hunger -- for him. “This can’t be right,” Maelwys said slowly, trying to figure it out and trying to keep himself from jumping Puck’s bones at the same time. “I came here for Tiana, not you.” “Same here.” Puck stood, clearly meaning to approach Maelwys. “Her aroma’s the same, but now you smell like my mate, too. Did it change like that for you, too? It did, didn’t it? Don’t try and fool me; I know better. Come here.” “Hell, no.” Maelwys retreated. “I’m going to go… to go… I don’t know. To stick my head in the fountain or something until whatever this is goes away.” Puck moved faster than Maelwys would have thought possible for a guy his size, his hand closing firmly over Maelwys’ wrist. “Hang on a minute. We need to work this out.”

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- 33 -

“What’s this ‘we’, birdbrain?” Maelwys tugged sharply free. “You know what? Only an idiot would hang around like the last kid picked for the team. Me, I’m going to find Tiana before she gets here and stake my claim.” Puck hooted at him. “Good luck finding a mate before she wants you to find her!” “I only came to wait because of manners, but wherever she is, I’ll know.” Maelwys tapped his nose. “She’s mine, and I’d suggest you remember that.” “I’ll remember, all right, so I can tell you later how wrong you were. As soon as I figure out why you smell like my mate, too.” Maelwys’ skin heated. When Puck said things like that, they filled his head with red-tinted images that he’d be better off without, such as nudging the owl shifter’s long legs as far apart as they could go, going to his knees between them and opening his jeans to find the prize inside. Drawing out his cock, which Maelwys knew would be long and thick and perfect, slapping wetly against his belly, salty and heavy and so good thrusting in his mouth. “This makes no sense,” he grumbled. He could see Tiana just as easily in his mind’s eye, spread out naked and mouthwateringly gorgeous, her breasts full, nipples hard and pussy dewy with moisture; the image affected him as strongly as before but, he now realized, no more powerfully as his erotic visions of Puck. “No sense at all. We’re done here. Stick around and wait if you want; it’ll be your loss.” He turned on his heel and strode away, head held high in anger. The world was playing a joke on him, he thought, and it wasn’t funny anymore. No way he’d stick around for more of these whacked-out head games. He had a mate to find before that lunatic owl or that dangerous wolf he’d almost forgotten about got their claws and paws on her, and there was no time like the present to stake his claim. “Well, now, that was quite a show. Have you two known each other long?”

Chapter Six Puck gritted his teeth over a groan. Oberon. “I might have figured you’d get here in time to see that,” he replied, looking back over his shoulder to see the wolf shifter standing behind him, not on the edge of the plaza as Maelwys had, but fully inside it, his feet planted firmly in sturdy boots and his hands ready at his sides. He eyed Oberon more closely as he turned, pretending that he couldn’t care less. He feigned cluelessness, as if he couldn’t see the shifter’s readiness to throw down in those hands that just needed an excuse to clench into fists. If they could start this off without punches being thrown, Puck would like that much, much better. Not that he minded a good fight, but geez, he knew his limits. Wolves trumped owls. Usually. Besides, he really didn’t want Tiana to walk into the middle of a brawl, out of which he’d have to rise to claim his mate while wearing black eyes and a split lip. Tiana. Damn, but the woman was fine -- and that, for a guy like Puck who’d choose another man nine times out of ten -- was saying something. Her dark, sultry good looks did things to his libido and made his cock point due North every time he thought of her. He couldn’t wait to learn what it felt like when she locked her ankles around his waist and came, screaming his name. That Maelwys character -- a deer? Pfft, please -- had tried to hide his hard-on, as if being mannerly about it made him any less horny. Heh. The horny buck. Puck thrust his hands in his pockets instead, choosing to show off the goods. He and Oberon had a little history of their own, after all, and it wasn’t all fisticuffs and insults. Oberon stood his ground, his brown eyes dark as pitch in the moonlit plaza. “Curiouser and curiouser,” he remarked. “Who is he, really? An old boy-toy of yours?

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- 35 -

And now we’re all here together fighting over the same woman. The more things change, the more they stay the same, don’t they?” “They do say there’s nothing new under the sun. I guess that goes for the moon, too.” Puck faked an elaborate yawn, keeping a careful, hopefully subtle watch on Oberon the whole time. Oberon most unhelpfully neither moved nor spoke again, giving Puck nothing but experience to gauge his mood. He was a hard one to pin down sometimes, Oberon was. One of the most powerful shifters Puck had ever known regardless of breed, wild as an untamed timber wolf when he changed forms, and a dangerous man when you crossed him. Right now, Puck thought, Oberon’s mood could best be described as “I’m standing my ground and staking my claim and if you think for a second you’re getting your grubby hands on Tiana, I’m gonna crack open a can of whoop-ass that’ll leave you crying in the dirt for your momma.” Oberon wasn’t a simple man, either. Not in any way. Complicated, complicated. Well, no point in beating around the bush, was there? Much. “Never met him before in my life,” Puck said, answering Oberon’s earlier question as if it was the only thing on his mind. “I think he might just be crazy, though.” As if to prove he couldn’t be predicted, Oberon snorted, laughing under his breath. “Yeah, well, that makes three of us.” Puck frowned, watching him warily. “Would you relax already? I’m not gonna take a swing at you.” Oberon walked casually across the plaza and chose the westernmost bench, the one he’d taken earlier that day. He pointed at the bench Puck had chosen before. “Sit down. We should talk about this.” “You sound almost reasonable. I think I’m scared.” Puck sat anyway. “You’re never this reasonable, Oberon. Almost never. To what do I owe the pleasure?” One of Oberon’s eyebrows lifted in a sarcastic quirk. “You think it’s a pleasure? Sorry to disappoint, but it’s business.” Ah. Here we go. “Interesting choice of words.”

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- 36 -

Oberon waved that aside. “You’re the one who likes riddles and games, not me. I’ll put this as plainly as I can, Puck. Tiana? Tiana is mine. Her blood calls to me, as mine does to her. That’s just the way it is with mates when their time comes.” “Funny. I could describe the connection between Tiana and myself exactly the same way.” “Yeah, that’s another thing. You’re crazier than usual if you think you’re actually her mate. One per lifetime for each shifter, and you know that.” Puck had no idea what provoked him to argue, but all the same, he did. “She is a Shamaness, not a shifter,” he pointed out. “That might make the difference.” “Can’t be that. Shifters have mated with witches and warlocks and wizards and sorcerers for centuries. We’d have heard about something like this happening before.” Despite his rebuttal, Oberon had started to frown, too. He shifted his weight on the bench. “Would you cut it out?” “What? I’m not doing anything.” “The hell you’re not. You’re playing some kind of a trick. A bottle of pheromones or something stuffed up your sleeve.” The back of Puck’s neck tingled. “Really, now?” he asked carefully. “You smell something different?” “Don’t play dumb. You know I do. You smell like a mate now and I know you can’t be, so --” Puck couldn’t help it. He threw his head back and laughed loud and long. When he came up for air, wiping his eyes, Oberon’s mood was easy to read: pissed off. “You think this is funny?” “I think almost everything in the whole wide world is funny, if you stand back and take a good look at it.” Puck settled down, minus the occasional chortle. “What a fine mess the three of us are in, huh?” “Three of us?” “Absolutely.” Puck brushed off his sleeve. “See, when Maelwys -- the buck -was here earlier --”

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- 37 -

“There’s nothing wrong with my nose, even if you are playing wacko games. I can still smell him.” “Can you? Anything different about his fragrance, hmm?” Puck watched Oberon on the slant. “Maybe he smells a bit tastier than he did before, maybe a little more appealing, or more than a little? Maybe you’re thinking, in the back of your mind at least, about how much you’d love to spread his legs and drive balls-deep in his tight ass? Grab his cock and drive him to the edge before letting go until he’s begging and promising you the world for --” “Actually, Puck, no. If I remember correctly, that would have been me and you a few years back,” Oberon interrupted, dry as a bare bone left in the sun. “Transference, much?” He sat forward, dark eyes blackening further. He wet his lips, probably unconsciously, the bastard, drawing Puck’s gaze directly to the wolf shifter’s fuckable mouth. Puck despised him further still when the next words to pass through those tasty lips were, “It’s over between us, what there was in the first place. Just some fun and games. We both knew this day would come, when we’d find our mates, and that they wouldn’t be one another.” “So why bother even thinking about trying to make it more than sex?” Puck fired back, his own temper flaring. Oberon’s rejection still stung like a mother, even a couple of years after the fact. They could have been good together. Okay, maybe he’d fallen in love. Somewhat. And maybe, maybe he was a touch bitter about it. Oberon made a “hmph” noise and narrowed his eyes at Puck. “I bet I can guess what you’re thinking,” he said. “You’re remembering the last time we fucked, aren’t you? You with your hands tied over your head and your feet barely touching the ground while I sucked you dry. And then gave you the pounding of a lifetime.” Puck mentally cursed the man, his pride refusing to let him try and hide what the sound of his voice and the power of the memories did to his libido. “Actually, no,” he lied. “I was thinking about the first time, when I tackled you at the fire dance and dragged you off into the bushes to have my wicked way with you.”

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- 38 -

“I was drunk.” “You still came like a fire hose. And you returned to me the next day, not drunk, and asked for more.” “Which you gave me. Gladly. Willingly. As often as I asked for it, and a lot of times when I didn’t. As good as that was, Puck? It’s still not the point.” “You could have fooled me. What is the point, then?” “Tiana.” “Ah.” Puck folded his arms over his chest and met Oberon’s challenging stare, matching it. “My mate.” “Mine.” “Says you. I followed the scent. I couldn’t smell that scent if she wasn’t my mate, quid pro quo and so freakin’ there, Oberon. Maelwys couldn’t have done it either. Whatever’s going on, all three of us are her mate.” “It’s not possible.” “Oh, really? Because it seems to me that that’s exactly what’s happening, Oberon. Wake up! Your saying something’s so or isn’t so doesn’t change what is, and it’s about damn time you learned that.” Puck stood, angry enough to take a swing. “While you’re at it, you might as well accept that all three of us men are giving off enough pheromones aimed at each other to fuel the fires at a brothel. Do I know what’s going on? Hell, no. But I know that denying the truth won’t do a bit of good.” Oberon regarded him flatly. “Are you done?” “No. Yes. For now.” Puck scrubbed his hand through his hair. “I can’t think around you, Oberon. Maelwys is out looking for Tiana. I figured he was an idiot, but now I’m changing my mind. Odds are good I can find her before he does and cut her off before she gets here. Maybe a woman can talk some sense into you because I give up.” Oberon stood, fists now firmly clenched and on display. “You stay away from my mate. I’ll figure this out.” Puck knew that if he lingered there a single second longer, he’d lose it completely and tackle Oberon like a fullback on crack, and who knew what he’d do

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when he had his hands on the shifter -- kill him or kiss him? No. He had to find Tiana and get her on his side so they could work out a solution before the first punch was thrown. He shifted fluidly into his owl shape, screeching derisively at Oberon as he spread his vast, snowy wings to fly. He’d look for Tiana from the air, and he’d get there first, he knew he would. But if he didn’t? Well, it was Midsummer’s Night, the longest night of the year. He’d have this riddle solved by the crack of dawn, so he would. Maybe, if absolutely all his dreams came true, he could then sleep the day away with Oberon, Tiana nestled between them on the same bed. And if Maelwys behaved himself, maybe he could come, too. Puck did crave himself a taste of that blue-eyed young demigod. Well-pleased, Puck took to the air and flew, a man -- okay, an owl -- on a mission. Luckily for him -- or maybe not, depending on your point of view -- Puck didn’t go far. Curse his trick-loving nature, he just had to double back and circle over Oberon’s head, using the noise of the city at night and the traffic to cover the beat of his wings, gliding when he could. Maybe a few rakes of his claws over Oberon’s scalp and he wouldn’t be quite so full of himself. The temptation was very much there to go so far as to drop a few, um, feathers on him, even. Puck prided himself on not being that much of a twit and waited for the right moment to buzz Oberon instead, all the better to flap his wings in the obstinate wolf shifter’s face. And since he hadn’t yet made tracks the way he’d planned, he had an excellent view of what came next in their night’s entertainment which was, as he might have figured, nothing like he’d expected. From his bird’s-eye-view, Puck saw Tiana approaching before Oberon did, although not long before. Shamans and Shamanesses had all the invisibility tricks down

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to an art, both the magical and the sneaky, and you wouldn’t ever see one before they wanted to be seen. Judging by the presence of Maelwys at Tiana’s side, her hand resting on his elbow as he escorted her like a proper gentleman, and the small, knowing smile tugging at her lips, the Shamaness had this moment perfectly orchestrated, and was walking in there knowing full well that she’d win. Puck liked that in a woman. Tiana would be hell on wheels to keep up with during the Year, more than enough of a lady to keep him captivated by her beauty and wits and bound in lust for her pussy until the next Midsummer’s Night. After which he didn’t know if he’d be strong enough to give her up. Magic, ah, magic. Of course, it looked like his own luck wasn’t running so smoothly. Making a split-second decision between one beat of his wings and the next, Puck glided smoothly to a stop on the ledge of a window above and facing the plaza, close enough to see and hear but hopefully not to be observed in return. He told himself that with any luck, the wolf and the deer would take each other out and leave the path free and clear for him. Then, he thought of Maelwys’ blue eyes and wide mouth, and of Oberon and the sexual tension that still crackled between them after all this time, and found himself more worried about them and less concerned with watching the show. Be careful, he sent silently to them. I’ll do what I have to do to win, yeah, but leave each other intact, okay? Puck settled down to watch from the air.

Chapter Seven Oberon had caught her scent long before he saw her, knowing his Tiana -- his -was on her way just as much as he knew that persistently annoying Puck was circling overhead, not half as stealthy as he’d have liked to think, probably just waiting for an excuse to dive-bomb him. He took his place on the stone bench, arms spread lazily across its back and the rest of his body falling into an indolent slouch. Tiana would either see it as an insult, if she wasn’t that bright, or take it for the dare it was. Oberon didn’t rise to the bait others laid out. They rose to him. The challenge this cunning Shamaness presented to him, well, that made the victory he was confident of all the sweeter. He told himself, firmly, that he wasn’t surprised to smell or to see Maelwys walking side-by-side with his lady, shoulders back and jaw up like a knight errant escorting a princess. Neither was he worried, even if he didn’t know exactly what was going on. Yet. Waiting until the two had crossed the edge of the plaza, Oberon tilted his head to one side and growled from low in his throat, using the voice of the wolf. “What, no whistles?” Tiana stopped, clearly amused. Maelwys didn’t look anywhere near as tickled, but obediently halted in his path. It was a shame, really. If they weren’t all fighting for the same woman, Oberon thought he would have liked Maelwys. The man was a born beta, created to carry out the orders of his alpha. Smart and strong and obedient. Good soldiers like him didn’t cross paths with Oberon every day. Oh, well.

Lia Connor


- 42 -

Oberon gazed at Tiana, drinking his fill of her exotic dark beauty. He did love women with creamy mocha skin and lush curves. They tasted so much sweeter, from their pretty, full mouths to their wet, fragrant pussies; the added spice of Tiana’s proud personality and self-confidence only made her all the more delectable. She met his gaze, neither blushing nor fidgeting, but matching him degree of heat by degree of heat, undressing him with her eyes and approving of what she saw. He noticed her nipples hardening under the thin fabric of her summer blouse; his fingers itched to tear it off her along with the rest of the clothes that were between him and her ripe form. His cock ached where it was trapped in his working man’s jeans, the zipper pressing in painfully. Deliberately, watching for her reaction, Oberon ran his forefinger down the metal teeth. Outwardly, nothing changed. Tiana only stood still and watched him with the same small I can do this all night smile. Her scent, though, that couldn’t lie. Along with the intoxicating smell of mate, Oberon caught a definite rush of feminine musk, her body more than ready for what he had on offer. Oberon approved. However, the almost -- almost -- equal, if sudden, wash of startled lust emanating from Maelwys -- took him by surprise and nearly threw him off his game. What the hell? “Well-met by moonlight,” he said, uneasy now and impatient with the preliminaries. Uncertainty made him rude. “I’ve got it from here, Bambi. You can go home to Thumper and Flower now.” White dents appeared at the side of Maelwys’ tightly frowning lips. The sexual hunger didn’t fade, nor did he let go of Tiana’s arm. “Not unless she tells me to.” “And I don’t plan on that.” Tiana rose up on tiptoes and kissed Maelwys’ cheek before glancing to where Oberon knew Puck had perched, and then returning her sly focus to him. “I think the four of us need to talk, boys.” No one denied that they had all come together despite their stated intentions otherwise.

Lia Connor


- 43 -

“Puck, spread your wings,” she commanded, smooth as cream and as impossible to disobey as a siren. “Fly to me.” Looking thoroughly disgruntled, the owl obeyed. As his claws touched down, he transmuted fluidly upward, his avian body stretching into that of the tall, lean human Puck. Oberon would be tempted to describe his expression as “sulky.” Tiana freed herself from Maelwys’ arm and approached Puck as lightly as if she weighed no more than one of his owl feathers and could take off and fly at any second. Instead, she twined her arms around his neck and stood on tiptoe to press a light kiss to his lips. Puck, never one to miss a chance, took Tiana by the hourglass curve of her waist, right above the sexy swell of her ass, and dominated the embrace -- or tried to. “Ah-ah-ah,” Tiana chided, slipping easily free and stepping back. “We’ll play this my way, gentlemen.” She turned her sparkling eyes on each of them in turn. “I think you’ve all forgotten something important, boys. The Midsummer’s Night ritual isn’t about who’s got the biggest sac, you know. It’s about the woman giving her favor to the man Mother Earth suggests, if she’s satisfied with that choice, and if she does, then that’ll mean another year of good luck for our kind, all of us.” “So? Get on with it, then,” Oberon said, unwilling to soften his demand. She was right, of course she was, but the predatory gleam in her smile made him uneasy. Tiana wouldn’t turn them all down if they didn’t dance to her tune. Would she? Tiana blew him a kiss, letting him know he’d guessed exactly what was on her mind. “This is the way I see it, and I can feel that I’m right.” She spread her hands, letting the breeze sift through her fingers, her eyelids slipping shut in an ecstasy Oberon burned to have brought her. “This hasn’t ever happened before, but why turn it down? Three times the luck for the shifters next year. You’re honestly going to say no to that?” Her eyes opened. Sly as a cat who’d spotted the cream, she dance-stepped to a spot roughly equidistant between Oberon and the two other men. She cupped her cheek and laughed at them, fondly chiding. “Silly, silly boys. You’ve all had a taste of me, and I’ve had a taste of you.”

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- 44 -

Oberon’s jaw dropped. He swung around to glare accusingly at Puck, who sneered back, and at Maelwys, whose chin came up in defiance. “Your face is going to freeze that way,” Tiana scolded. “It’s far too handsome a face to risk that. And don’t make me stop again, or I won’t start back up. Understood?” Oberon muttered darkly beneath his breath. “Understood?” Tiana repeated. It stung his pride, but he could tell she wasn’t backing down anytime soon. And call him pussy-whipped if anyone wanted to, but he’d call himself “addicted” instead. He knew he’d do whatever it took for another taste of intoxicating Tiana. He nodded grudgingly, sensing Puck and Maelwys doing the same behind him. Tiana seemed pleased. “I’m not asking for much,” she said, dropping her pointing finger to the hollow at the base of her throat and trailing it down, down, down, between her full breasts and over her rounded belly, stopping just above the meeting of her thighs. “All I want is the truth.” Puck coughed. Knowing him, Oberon was ninety percent sure he was stifling the automatic Daniel Kaffee-style “You can’t handle the truth!” the joker had to be dying to let rip with. “What truth is that?” Maelwys asked, ignorant -- lucky him -- of Puck’s weird sense of humor. Tiana lifted her face, sniffing delicately at the air. “The truth that’s thick in the air, so heavy and delicious that it makes me tingle… all… over.” She moaned softly and slid her hand over her pussy, pressing down with her fingers curled beneath. Oberon’s cock strained against his zipper; Maelwys’ mouth hung open; he thought he heard Puck make a small, desperate sound. “Fine,” Oberon said, clipped. “Tell us what you want. Whatever it is, it’s yours, if it’ll make you happy enough to hold up your end of the ritual.” “That’s unromantic,” she rebuked, although with a wicked twinkle in her eye. “I think you need a few lessons in manners, Oberon. They’ll keep, though. I’ll have a whole year to teach you how to be nice to a lady, and to teach Puck how to put that

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naughty tongue of his to much better use, and Maelwys? Maelwys, I plan on working on until he learns to step up and take instead of hanging around hoping he’ll receive.” She turned in a slow circle, not sparing a one of them. “Here’s the deal, gentlemen. I want you. You want me. But here’s the thing you’re determined to ignore or deny, for no good reason I can see: you want each other just as much if not more. All three of you. There’s no sense in denying this, and I won’t let you throw it away, not without a fight. So, boys, the choice is yours. All for one and one for all, or nothing.” Tiana stopped, challenging Oberon directly. “Well? What do you say?” “That I don’t know what I’d rather do first, put you over my knee or --” “Oh, the hell with this,” Maelwys muttered, startling Oberon into looking at him. He only had time for a glimpse of the tall, dark man moving toward him before Maelwys was already there, firm male hands on his face, tilting it up, firmly slanting their mouths together. Oberon’s mouth opened with surprise; Maelwys didn’t miss a beat before sliding his tongue in, caressing and curling it over Oberon’s own. He heard someone groan, deep and guttural, and was embarrassed as a fool to realize he was the one making the noise. Then, when he thought this couldn’t get any stranger, Puck jostled Maelwys aside. Oberon barely had time for a single ravenous gulp of air before Puck’s lips slammed over his. His height and weight claimed the advantage, allowing him to walk Oberon backwards one clumsy pace at a time, those broad hands clutching at his back and kneading his ass. When Oberon collided with one of the benches and sat down heavily, Puck was right there with him, straddling his lap. He broke the kiss and seized Oberon’s chin, refusing to let him look away -- not that Oberon wanted to, not anymore. The combined aroma of four different flavors of lust had gone to his head, leaving him drunk and dizzy.

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- 46 -

Tiana and Maelwys approached from behind Puck, flanking him, Maelwys kneeling beside them and Tiana raising one leg to plant her small foot on the bench. He could happily have drowned in the luscious scent of her desire. “Everyone with me?” she asked, mischievous as the devil on a spree. “One for all?” “And all for one,” Oberon replied gruffly, pushing his way free of Puck. “Now get down here and let’s get started.” “Sweet-talker,” Tiana said, turning his head so that she could kiss him. Her tongue danced over his lips as she withdrew. “It’s time. The ritual begins now. In other words: gentlemen, start your engines.”

Chapter Nine Tiana beckoned to her three men. “Come here, all of you.” She pretended to pout, forming a moue of her lips. “Don’t keep me waiting any longer. I want you now, all of you. Or should I give it up and go home? You’re tempting me.” “Like hell you’re leaving,” Puck breathed. He jerked open his jeans, slid them down his legs and kicked them away. Then, finally, he pounced to his knees in front of her, yanking up her skirt to press a kiss to her soaking pussy, licking at the moisture slicking her thighs. “Like hell you’re starting without me.” Maelwys joined them after hastily getting rid of his own slacks and his shirt. He knelt at Puck’s side, shoving him. “Stand up. Turn around.” “Why?” Puck asked warily, though he obeyed. “So I can do this,” Maelwys replied, wrapping his fist around Puck’s erection. He licked at the head. “Any objections?” “God, no. Tiana?” “Be my guest,” she urged them. “Oberon? I want you behind me.” “To what do I owe the honor?” “Shut up and do it.” Oberon laughed. “Yes, ma’am.” Ooh, I could get used to that. But she’d think about it later. Right now she had much better things to concentrate on, namely the delicious sight of Oberon stripping off his working-man’s garb and striding to her, blanketing her with the firmness of his muscled body nestled tightly to her, his cock prodding her ass and threatening to slip beneath and tease at the entrance to her pussy.

Lia Connor


- 48 -

That sounded like a marvelous idea to Tiana. She bent forward, steadying herself on Maelwys’ shoulders. He rippled in pleasure without letting go of Puck’s cock. The wet, slick noises he made as he sucked drew a fresh swell of hunger to her pussy, making her almost desperate for Oberon’s cock. She carefully shifted her balance to one hand and reached for Puck, scratching lightly at the sweat-dampened surface of his chest. He reached back, catching her and drawing her in for a rough kiss, his fingers digging deep in her hair, winding curls around his hand. Pleased, Tiana returned the favor, scattering heated kisses over Puck’s face, both her gentle/sharp nips and bites eagerly returned. Puck picked up the pace in equal measure, going at it as if he meant to use every last drop of power he had to please her, searching for that white-hot moment that would win her heart, soul and body. Oberon stroked the length of his cock shallowly in her pussy, not penetrating her, not yet. “Want this?” he tormented, licking a path up her neck. He reached around to pinch and roll her nipples, chuckling when she moaned. “So hot, Tiana. So hot. Does this feel good?” “Feels pretty damn fine, but it could get better,” Tiana sighed. She rolled her hips, trying to coax him deeper and harder. He drew back, laughing. “Are you going to make me wait all day?” she snapped. “Only if you’re good, and ask me nicely.” Oberon slid the very tip of his cock inside her, biting under her jaw when she gasped. “But then,” he murmured, “how good have you ever been in your life?” A wicked smirk parted Tiana’s lips. “Fuck me properly, and you’ll see.” “I believe I will.” Oberon paused long enough to torment her by rubbing his finger over Maelwys’ bulging cheek, stroking the weight of Puck’s cock through the skin. “This might not be such a bad idea of yours after all, Tiana.” “Oberon,” she warned, pleading now. Anything it took to get him to finally -She threw back her head, colliding with his shoulder, as he at last thrust deep into her pussy. The spasms of her instantaneous climax clenched around him,

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squeezing him tight. He hissed, kissed her throat savagely, and began to fuck her in earnest, fast and rough, showing her no mercy. Exactly the way she liked it. “No way I’m going slow now,” he whispered. “I want to hear you scream for me. Want this to be the best you’ve ever had.” “We’ve ever had,” Maelwys let go of Puck’s cock to growl. Puck groaned and stiffened, giving Tiana a good idea -- insofar as she was able to think -- that Maelwys had thrust his finger in Puck’s ass. He took the fat purple head of the owl shifter’s cock into his mouth again and sucked, lips pursing wetly around the shaft. “Like this.” Puck seized Maelwys’ head to hold him still and began to thrust into his mouth, shallowly at first, then hard. Maelwys took it beautifully, eyes shut and cheeks flushed, moaning whorishly for more. “Like this, too.” Oberon forced his finger in Maelwys’ mouth, stretching his lips. Puck keened, hands fisting in Maelwys’ hair. He strengthened his grip on Tiana’s waist and thrust deep. “Together?” He didn’t wait for an answer. Tiana offered him one regardless, writhing on his cock. “Good enough for me,” he grunted. He stroked his cock into Tiana in a nearmindless frenzy. Not to be outdone, Puck managed to unknot one of his hands from Maelwys’ hair and fumbled his way to Tiana’s pussy. He cupped underneath her, the heat of his palm cupping where Oberon fucked her. Tiana screamed, frantic for it. She was so close to the mightiest orgasm of her life. Just a little more… a little more… Oberon’s thrusts hastened; Tiana knew she’d be sore for days after this and didn’t care a bit. “Love you,” he panted, fierce and fast. “Love you now, love you like this, always gonna love you…” Puck chanted. Maelwys grasped Tiana’s ankle, holding her leg still. The firm circles he rubbed with his thumb said the words his lips couldn’t form, being too busy sucking Puck’s cock. Together, voices rising and falling over one another, her shifters three chanted the

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words, turning them into promises and vows that they would never leave her, not even after this magical Midsummer’s Night. Not ever. Tiana’s climax exploded within her. Her shifters held on tight while she rocketed from higher to highest. Puck snarled, Maelwys growled around his mouthful of cock, and Oberon howled as the three came nearly simultaneously. Together, they struggled to catch their breath. Tiana found herself laughing around her gasps. Her shifters let go of one another and rose shakily to embrace her from front and back and side, roughly stroking and lightly caressing. “What’s funny?” Oberon rumbled, lips tickling her skin. Tiana smiled broadly, utterly contented. Blessed four times and running over with plenty, not just with good luck for the shifters for the next year, but with the triple blessing of three mates and partners for the rest of her life. She couldn’t be happier or more satisfied with the work she’d done this Midsummer’s Night. “See?” she asked, nestling between her men. “It’s all going to work out for the best. No -- it’s going to be perfect. I told you so!”

Lia Connor Lia Connor supposedly lives in the South, but her job takes her almost everywhere but there. Her laptop is her best friend as she travels. She’s thrilled to be working with Changeling Press. She loves to write about BBW’s, hot, hot, hot threesomes and were-animals. Lia would love to hear from you. You can contact her at [email protected]. Visit her web page at http://margaretriley.com/lia.html

Midsummer's Night

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