The Last of His Kind by Doris O'Connor Read Free Book Online Page B

And how on earth
were they going to get out?
    Euan's
loud groan brought her attention to the man coming round slowly on the ground.
He screeched and tried to scramble away from her, when Doric roared with a gust
of wind that would have blown Penelope over, had he not curled his tail around
her once again. Anchored to Doric she watched Euan tumble around on the jagged
edges. Her stomach churned as he reopened just closed wounds, and she leant
further into Doric's all-encompassing presence.
    "Doric,
stop, please. He needs help. He's hurt."
    Doric's
whole body shook in disgust, and he snorted an almost human harrumph.
    "I
don't need the fucking help of your monster, you human bitch."   Euan squawked the words, and the ground shook
at Doric's roar in response. Euan paled even more, and his eyes widened when
Penelope twisted sideways just enough to grab hold of Doric's face.
    "Stop
it! I know he doesn't deserve it, but if we leave him here, that makes us as
bad as he. Besides, he needs to answer to the authorities for what he did.
Kidnapping is an offence, and I'm pretty sure there must be laws against
hunting on the
Loch
. And if there aren't, then
there should be. Stop grinning at me like that, you big clumsy water thing you.
What the heck are you anyway?"
    Doric's
strange grin grew wider, and Penelope's heart lurched. God, even in this form,
she couldn't help but be drawn to him. He seemed human to her, far from the
monster he was purported to be. She punched his tail still wrapped around her
playfully, and he chuckled. The vibrations shook the ground around them, and
she shook her head.
    "Will
you stop that? You'll bring the whole thing down around our ears."
    Doric
sobered, tightening his tail around her, and she raised one hand to his face.
He leaned his huge head into it, and the emotion shimmering in his golden eyes
took her breath away. She couldn't help it. She leaned forward and pressed a
kiss against the side of his nuzzle, his skin there smooth and soft. A shudder
went through him, and his hold on her loosened. Surprise registered in his
eyes, seconds before the air around him shimmered.
    Penelope
watched in stunned fascination as his huge body shrank and contorted, the bones
cracking audibly in the stillness of the cave, until he stood before her in his
gloriously naked human form. He held his hand in front of his face as though he
could not believe the transformation, and she flung herself into his arms with
a shriek of delight.
    ****
    "I
don't fucking believe it!" Euan's sneering curse rang in Doric's ears, but
he ignored the sniveling bastard. This couldn't be happening to him, yet the
soft woman in his arms confirmed that he wasn't dreaming. He'd shifted, deep
inside the
Loch
, the curse seemingly lifted as
instantly as it had fallen on him all those centuries ago. He tightened his
hold on Penelope, not daring to believe the tender feelings swelling in his
chest like unfurling petals in the first rays of the morning's sunshine.
    "Are
you okay?" His human voice sounded hoarse even to his own ears, and
Penelope nodded into his chest, before she stiffened and pushed against him. He
let her go immediately. His heart plummeted, and his gut tightened. Surely she
wouldn't reject him now?
    Her
hands roamed over his body, her voice shrill, agitation coming off her in
waves.
    "I'm
fine, sore, but I’ll live, but you…you got shot. Oh my God, Doric, I need to
get you a doctor. We need to get out of this hell-hole, and the exits are
blocked, and—"
    She
went very still when he stopped that torrent of words with his mouth, and his
blood heated with the way her slight curves molded into his frame. He ran his
tongue along the seams of her mouth, willing her to open for him, and when she
did with a small sigh, he entered heaven. His body responded instantly as his
blood pooled in his hardening cock, and he ran his hands down her sides and
cupped her ass, lifting her effortlessly against him. She locked her legs
around his