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  Obsessed: Seraphine Chronicles

  Copyright © 2013

  Obsessed: Forbidden by Cheyenne McCray

  All rights reserved. No part of this e-Book may be reproduced in whole or in part, scanned, photocopied, recorded, distributed in any printed or electronic form, or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without express written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  E-book conversion by Bella Media Management.

  Published by Pink Zebra Publishing.

  Cover Design by Scott Carpenter

  Forbidden

  Prophecy

  Tanzinite woman, wingless and wan

  Nordai of Power, of twins, we warn

  One path to doom, enslavement and walls

  With unholy mating, Dair rises or falls

  Chronicles of the Seraphine Elves…XXVII

  Chapter One

  Candlelight flickered across Liana’s skin as the last of her clothing pooled at her feet. The scent of jensai blooms floated through the open window on an evening breeze, the balmy air easing over her body like a lover’s caress.

  Liana stood in the center of her bedchamber and closed her eyes, a vision of the dark stranger filling her senses. As she tilted her head back, her hair brushed her bare buttocks like a whisper of moonlight.

  Like she imagined the man’s touch would be upon her skin.

  Even as she moved her hands to her naked breasts, she was aware of the nordai’s passionate night calls outside her cottage. But the raven’s cries faded as the stranger’s image burned in Liana’s thoughts.

  Black eyes that had followed her as she had made her way through the tavern. Sensuality simmering beneath the surface of his stare. Ebony hair brushing his broad shoulders. A scruffy hint of a beard along his arrogant jaw. Muscles that flexed with every movement as he towered over her.

  Visualizing the stranger’s callused hands upon her body, Liana caressed her taut nipples with her palms. She could almost smell the man’s woodsy scent, a hint of which she had caught when she had brushed past him in the tavern. She had shivered from the slight contact, but kept her gaze averted, every nerve ending ablaze with wanting him.

  How could she desire a man she had never seen before today?

  How could she desire any man when it was forbidden?

  A moan eased through Liana’s lips as the vision of the stranger’s touch grew stronger. She imagined his tanned fingers covering her pale breast, his callused palm chaffing her sensitive nipples. She could feel the black hair on his powerful arms brushing her skin. Her body ached with desire, ached with need. A need she did not understand how to fill.

  There was only one being with whom she was supposed to mate—but no. She would not allow that reality to spoil the erotic fantasy weaving through her mind.

  She had never mated with a man, for it was forbidden. She had heard lusty tales told by her heart-sister Tierra and the tavern wenches, but Liana had never had such an intense desire to experience such a joining—

  Until him.

  Her belly quivered as she eased one hand down her flat stomach to the tangle of curls between her thighs. Where it was forbidden to touch herself. The place that now ached to be stroked, as though that might ease her wanting of the stranger.

  Liana’s tresses moved as an extension of her thoughts, sliding over her naked skin like she imagined the stranger might touch her body. His hands would be slow. Gentle. His mouth would feel hot on her lips, her breasts, her belly, leaving a trail of fire wherever he touched.

  Burning.

  Slipping her fingers between her folds, Liana gasped as she felt the dampness of her desire for the dark stranger. Her other hand continued to knead her nipples as she imagined the man fondling them. Her hair caressed her shoulders down to her hips, and the motion of her fingers grew stronger, more insistent, as she stroked her clit.

  But instead of relieving her need for the man, the knot in her belly grew tighter and tighter yet.

  She could almost feel the stranger’s stubble, rough against her inner thighs. And his tongue—gods, his tongue—laving at her clit that was building with pressure. Building and building and—

  A cry of surprise rose in Liana’s throat and her eyes flew open as the most exquisite sensations rocked through her. Like a flock of startled blackbirds bursting from their roosts amongst the sacred vines. Like moonlight sparkling across the rainbow sands of Mairi.

  Her fingers continued, drawing out the intense feelings until her body could take no more.

  Liana dropped to her knees and braced her palms against the rush-covered floor, her hair swinging forward to cover her face. Her breasts swayed and her thighs trembled. Her breath came in short gasps as she struggled to overcome the dizziness that threatened to render her boneless.

  When she had strength to move, Liana eased onto her haunches. A sound, ever so slight, pierced the haze still shrouding her confused mind. Through her curtain of hair, she glanced up to see an enormous ebony nordai perched on her windowsill, its black eyes focused intently on her—and a sheath was strapped to its powerful leg. The hilt of a dagger jutted out, a ruby glinting on its hilt like a drop of blood.

  Ice chilled Liana’s spine. My gods—what have I done?

  * * * * *

  Aric sucked in his breath as the Tanzinite maid collapsed to the floor with the strength of her orgasm. He had known he was breaching Liana’s privacy when she had begun to shed her clothing—but he had been too enchanted to move.

  And Lord Ir, when she had touched herself, he had nearly come undone. The flushed look of utter surprise and rapture on Liana’s face when she had climaxed had been the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

  It had been all he could do to maintain his nordai form. Gods, how he had wanted to fly through her open window, resume his man’s body and bury his cock inside her, claiming her virgin warmth and taking her until she screamed her pleasure. How he wanted to be the cause of the ecstasy in those sea green eyes.

  Forbidden.

  She was of the Tanzinites, the cave-dwellers, and he of the Nordain, the Sky People. Never had the two races mated. Never would they.

  Forbidden.

  This was the woman who had been named to mate with the Sorcerer Zanden, a Nordain traitor. It was a joining Aric was sworn to prevent—by whatever means deemed necessary.

  Forbidden.

  The maid sat back upon her haunches, her breasts rising and falling with every breath, her flaxen hair shrouding her delicate features. She was a rare Tanzinite, born without wings, banished from the caves at birth and forced to live on Dair’s surface amongst humans and fey folk.

  Yet she was perfection. Candlelight danced across her silken skin, as beautiful as a Mairi pearl. Her nipples were the deep rose of the sacred vine’s blossoms. The pale curls between her thighs like sea foam. And her hair, moonbeams spilling in shimmering waves past her hips.

  His keen senses caught her scent as it rose up to him through the open window. Liana smelled of jensai blooms and moonlight. And of the passion between her thighs, a nectar of which he desired to drink his fill.

  A lustful sound escaped Aric—and the maid’s attention riveted on him. Even through her fine hair, he saw her sea green eyes widen with shock and fear. For a long moment their gazes remained locked, until Aric forced himself to move.

  With a mighty flap of his wings, he took to the dark skies, trying to shove the erotic memor
ies of the Tanzinite woman from his mind. He had a task to complete, and that did not include joining with the maid.

  Though how in Lord Ir’s name he would keep his hands off Liana, he did not know.

  * * * * *

  Shivering, more from the memory of what she had done last night than from this evening’s chill, Liana drew her cloak tighter. She hurried as she made her way through Fiorn, a village in Sorcerer Zanden’s realm.

  Uba, a cruel and vicious woman, had raised Liana, along with two other orphaned girls—Ranelle and Tierra. Long ago Uba would have sold each of them into prostitution if it had not been for payments made to the greedy woman by an unknown benefactor. Uba had died only weeks ago, leaving the three young women the small cottage they had grown up in.

  Now that it was dark, by Zanden’s orders, Liana was allowed to leave her home to perform her Seer’s duties. From the time she was old enough to communicate, Liana had seen visions of the future, and occasionally of the past. Early on, Uba had taken advantage of Liana’s skills, arranging for Liana to tell fortunes for ansi stones. Of course, Uba had snatched all payments from Liana. It was a wonder Liana had managed to hoard away a few ansi that Uba had been unaware of.

  Unlike Liana, Ranelle’s and Tierra’s magical powers were unknown to anyone outside the three of them, so they had never been exploited in the same manner. Instead, Ranelle had been forced to perform a nightly erotic dance, and Tierra usually tended the bar.

  As she hurried toward the tavern, Liana’s cloak and thin gown brushed over cobblestones, the material making only a whisper of sound. She knew her way by rote and by her senses, not requiring the moonlight to see by. Normally Liana walked with her friends from the cottage to the tavern. However, on this day, Tierra was ill from a bout with food poisoning, and Ranelle had gone to the cobbler’s.

  Liana’s thoughts turned back to last eve, when she had been alone in her bedchamber—or thought she had been. Gods, how could she have been so foolish? The nordai at her windowsill hadn’t been one of the ravens that thrived on Dair. It had been much too large—and the sheath and dagger strapped to its powerful leg told her it was no common nordai. The raven had been one of the Nordain, the Sky People who transformed from raven form to human at will, and usually dwelled in a kingdom far to the north.

  But if the being was one of Zanden’s minions, one of the Nordain traitors who had pledged allegiance to the Sorcerer, her life might be forfeit.

  But then her life may as well be over if she was forced to join with him.

  No!

  Pausing at the center of a quiet alleyway, Liana gritted her teeth and struggled to maintain her composure. She pressed her hand against the ansi gems sewn within her cloak, and reaffirmed the decision she had made earlier. It was time to make her escape. She would not wait until moonchange, when Zanden would be relegated to his nordai form and forced to remain at his fortress along with his Nordain minions.

  Tonight.

  She would go tonight.

  Cool air carried the scent of the Mairi Sea, blending with the strong perfume of jensai blooms that surrounded Fiorn. Liana tried to ignore the less attractive odors of dung and garbage strewn beside the village’s business establishments, but it was near impossible.

  No, she wouldn’t miss this place where she had been forced to live since her birth.

  Since her own people abandoned her. Discarded her for her differences.

  Even though she had known of it since her childhood, until of late, it hadn’t seemed real—that Zanden had chosen her as his mate. That he would come for her after moonchange, shortly before she reached her twentieth season. That he believed she was the Tanzinite maid and he the Nordain male of the prophecy.

  The prophecy the Elves made before her birth.

  If she had not seen it in her own visions, likely she would never have believed it to be true.

  Revulsion flooded Liana in an icy wave and she shivered despite her cloak. She had never seen the Sorcerer beyond a vision or two, yet she couldn’t bear the thought of his hands upon her body. His stave impaling her, driving into her, planting his wicked seed within her womb. All to fulfill the prophecy and ensure his rule over every race.

  She knew only too well how the Sorcerer dealt with treachery amongst his servants. Uba had said that Zanden insisted Liana would experience fornication by his hands and body alone. If the Sorcerer learned she had done the forbidden after he had decreed to all of Dair that he owned her…if he learned she had touched herself and brought such pleasure to her own body…

  Liana shuddered. Her head could soon hang from the walls of the Sorcerer’s fortress for her disobedience. Her sightless eyes would stare out at the Mairi Sea alongside countless others who had failed or betrayed Zanden.

  The hood of her cloak fell to her shoulders as she glanced to the dark sky. Zanden needed her to fulfill the prophecy. He would be more likely to chain her naked to his dungeon wall as punishment, forcing himself upon her whenever he wished.

  No, no, no! She would never mate with any Nordain man of power, as the prophecy had foretold. Along with Ranelle and Tierra, Liana would escape and vanish forever from the Sorcerer’s realm. Far from his reach. And far from the ranges of any Nordain flyer.

  Raising her chin, she blocked the horrible image of the Sorcerer from her mind and once again started toward the tavern. But another, far more powerful vision replaced thoughts of the Sorcerer, and she stopped in mid-stride.

  The stranger.

  No matter the future Liana would face if she did not escape soon, she couldn’t rid her thoughts of the devastating man from the tavern. The way that smoky black gaze had studied her every movement last eve. Raw masculinity that called to her woman’s core. The hard line of his jaw every time a man approached her to have his fortune told.

  As though the stranger was jealous.

  Liana’s nipples puckered against the light material of her gown at the mere thought of the man desiring her body. After feeling such incredible pleasure at her own hands, she could imagine the dark stranger taking her to far greater heights. Of its own mind, her hair moved within her cloak, sliding across her breasts, enhancing the need that grew tighter and tighter within her belly.

  Gods! Liana stamped her foot and clenched her fists, and her tresses went still. As she tucked her hair behind her pointed ear, she tried to calm her desires. She had no time for the newly awakened fantasies.

  Tonight she must make her escape. But first she had to convince—

  “You had best hurry along now, wench.”

  Liana startled at the sound of Ranelle’s voice from behind her. Hand to her pounding heart, Liana whirled to confront her friend. “You nearly caused my lifeforce to depart!”

  Ranelle tossed her long mahogany hair over her shoulder as she gave an impish grin, her teeth flashing in the moonlight. “That should teach you to fantasize in the middle of the village about handsome strangers.”

  Heat flushed through Liana, and she was certain she was as red as a jensai bloom. “I was doing no such—”

  “Save untruths for someone who might believe them.” Ranelle brushed away Liana’s protest with a wave of her hand, the motion causing her cloak to gape open, revealing sparkling attire, generous curves and dark nipples jutting under the sheer material of her gown.

  “What are you talking about?” Liana muttered, but at the same time she wondered if her friend had ever touched her own nipples, or caressed herself between her thighs as Liana had done.

  “Last night Tierra and I noticed how you stumbled through your dealings with the patrons.” Ranelle laughed and in sisterly fashion adjusted Liana’s hood so that it once again covered her pale tresses. “And how you could not keep your eyes off the big brute in the corner who watched you the entire eve.”

  “You have a fine imagination.” Cheeks burning ever hotter, Liana ducked her head and started toward the tavern again. “Come, lest Nira send her guard after us.”

  “Ah, but you forget.” Rane
lle easily kept up, her long legs outpacing Liana’s shorter ones. “I, too, am gifted with sight.”

  Liana stopped, forcing Ranelle to back up a few paces. Her breath caught as she whispered, “What did you see?”

  Ranelle cast her gaze over her shoulder as if looking for someone in the darkness. When she turned back to Liana, she offered a half-smile. “Only that this man is a part of your future.”

  Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Liana fisted her hands in the folds of her cloak, drawing it tighter yet. “In what way?”

  “I do not know.” Ranelle shrugged but looked uneasy as she drew the opening of her own cloak closed, covering her near-naked breasts. “Even though the brute did naught but scowl whenever his glance fell upon me, my senses tell me he is one you can trust.”

  “Trust.” The word slipped from Liana’s lips, a mocking sound even to her own ears. “As if I can trust any soul on the whole of this world.”

  At the hurt expression on Ranelle’s lovely face, Liana hurried to add, “Except you and Tierra, of course. Only the two of you.”

  Ranelle winked, her eyes shimmering silver in the moonlight. “Halia. As if I would question your trust in me. As you would never question my trust in you or Tierra.”

  “You are both my heart-sisters, yes.” Liana hugged Ranelle tight. As always, her friend smelled of exotic spices and vanilla.

  A wolf’s howl echoed through the night, and Liana shivered. Come with me, she said in Ranelle’s mind. Tonight.

  “It is not safe!” Ranelle’s voice rose a fraction above a whisper and her glance darted around the darkened village, as though concerned they were being followed. She leaned forward to murmur in Liana’s ear, “We agreed to escape with Tierra during moonchange. And besides, our heart-sister is still ill. She would not be able to accompany us.”

  Liana sighed and urged her friend toward their destination, wishing Ranelle could speak in thought to ensure they wouldn’t be overheard. They were within feet of the weathered building where they were both forced to work each night. Crude laughter and voices came from inside the establishment. Stinking odors of sour ale and vomit outside the tavern’s door churned her stomach.