this. She tugged him closer, catching his cock again. She rubbed it, sending fire through him that burned away everything he’d ever thought important.
As he came down to her, wanting her mouth, Rhianne gasped. “Goddess, help me. I’m going to shift.”
Ben jerked as Rhianne’s skin rippled, downy feathers blossoming across her skin. They were tiny, giving her a softness that Ben suddenly found incredibly sexy.
“Don’t fight.” Ben pinned her with his hands on her shoulders. “Remember what I just taught you. Take the energy, turn it around. Don’t resist.”
“But I don’t want to hurt you.”
Ben gave her a feral smile. “Lucky you, sweetheart. I’m the most resilient thing you could ever be with.”
Tears formed in Rhianne’s eyes. The feathers spread, thickening. Ben wondered what he’d do if she suddenly sprouted that killer beak.
Rhianne’s face remained her own. She struggled another long moment, then she took a deep breath and slowly, slowly made herself relax.
“That’s it, love,” Ben said. “You’re stronger than you know. Strength doesn’t have to force. It can give.”
Rhianne drew another breath, eyes closing. Her hands came up to press Ben’s chest, and he realized she was trying to do the moves of the pushing hands. Ben knelt back, meeting her wrists with his, once more falling into the flowing pattern.
The feathers receded, Rhianne’s skin smoothing. She shivered, hard, then opened her eyes, silent tears flowing from their corners. Ben leaned down and kissed them away.
Rhianne embraced him. Her strength hadn’t diminished, but her desperation had calmed. Her need had not gone away, he could tell, but she rocked against him gently, caressing instead of grabbing.
Ben slowly lowered her to the grass. “You see? You can control it. But the feathers—nothing to be ashamed of there. I bet your half-beast is wicked sexy.”
She gazed at him, perplexed, and Ben smothered a laugh. He had so much to teach her.
Ben leaned to her and nipped her lips, sliding his hand between her thighs to loosen her once more. Then he positioned himself and slid his cock straight into her open, welcoming heat.
Chapter Fourteen
Rhianne couldn’t stop her sharp intake of breath as Ben filled her, and filled her. She’d wrapped her hand around his very large cock, but as it slid into her, she realized just how large it was.
His eyes went soft, the darkness of them pulling at her. There was so much in his gaze, most hidden behind walls he’d built over centuries. Rhianne wanted to reach those walls, tear them aside, and look into the heart of the being called Ben.
For now, having him inside her, both easing and increasing the hot ache of her need, was incredible. A cry escaped her, all her worries, fears, and sorrows fleeing as the joy of locking together with Ben became a reality.
He stilled himself as he studied her, letting her grow used to him. The weight of him was soothing, protective.
Ben ran his hand along her braid. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” A smile tugged at his mouth. “And I’m not just saying that to get into your pants.”
Ben used the most entertaining expressions. She wanted him to teach them all to her.
He’d called it mating frenzy. Rhianne decided that was a very good word for it. She felt frenzied as she lifted herself to him and twined herself around him, urging him to continue.
Ben laughed softly, a sound of satisfaction. He withdrew slightly then slid back in, opening Rhianne wider, eliciting another gasp.
She wanted more. Faster, harder. The words came out of her mouth, in her own language, her grasp of other tongues fleeing.
Ben’s laughter died, a groan escaping him as he began thrusting into her. There was an ache inside Rhianne that needed to be eased, one that grew hotter and more acute as he loved her.
The need increased rather than abated. Ben was thick and hard, unlocking sensations she’d never experienced. The few lovers of her past—and the last was so very long ago—hadn’t touched her like this, hadn’t released what Ben was unleashing.
A wildness Rhianne had always sensed in herself but never acknowledged rose screaming to the surface. It wasn’t the same as the shifting instinct—this was more primal, reaching back to what the Tuil Erdannan had been in the dawn of time. Fearless, untamed, unstoppable.
A bright heat flashed through her, but this one didn’t come from her. Where she and Ben joined was unbearably hot, and at the same time exhilarating. Her body throbbed with it, the ferocity emerging from