Devinmar: God of Litha (Sons of Herne #5) Read online

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  Devinmar: God of Litha (Sons of Herne, #5)

  DEVINMAR: GOD OF LITHA: SONS OF HERNE 5 J. ROSE ALLISTER

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  DEVINMAR: GOD OF LITHA

  SONS OF HERNE 5

  J. ROSE ALLISTER

  She was saved from drowning by an act of god...a seductive, smoking hot god.

  The fifth in a series of erotic romance fantasy novellas...

  It is the time of Litha, and Devinmar, god of the sabbat, will rise from the sea to mate with a human female and unleash the powers of the deep. His visit to shore comes a day early, however, when he saves a stunning beauty from drowning under suspicious circumstances.

  Hallie wakes up on a beach after being rescued by the most exotically gorgeous man she has ever seen. Believing Devinmar is an exceptional hunk of male is no stretch, but falling for his stories about selkie legends and pagan gods is something else. Still, she can’t help but give into the temptation of a sea god whose long hair, exquisite beauty, and intense stare beckons.

  When Devinmar returns to make Hallie his sabbat consort, he discovers she has been taken by those responsible for her near drowning. Getting her back could mean failing in his duty to the sabbat, but he goes after her nevertheless. He’ll use the powers of the deep to make her safe again—even knowing that once their midsummer’s night has ended, he will be forced to leave her behind and return to the sea.

  About the Sons of Herne series:

  The god Herne has appointed eight of his most virile, headstrong sons as keepers of the pagan holidays. To honor their sabbat, each must join with a mortal female in a ritual to maintain the balance between worlds.

  It is the year of The Thousand Seasons, and the Fates have secretly conspired to mark the end of an era by granting the gods one thing they lack—a true union of male and female that will last well beyond the fleeting passion of a sabbat joining.

  Herne’s sons will wrestle with the conflict between sacred duty and their own yearnings, a struggle that will not only challenge their beliefs, but may threaten the success of rituals that must be observed lest the realms of mortal and immortal collide in chaos.

  Genre: Erotic Romance/Fantasy

  Length: Around 20,200 words

  Copyright © 2016 by J. Rose Allister

  Second Edition Publication: July, 2016

  First Publication: May, 2016 (limited release as Magic of Midsummer)

  Cover design by J. Rose Allister

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2016 by J. Rose Allister

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED: You do not have the right to distribute or resell this book without the prior written permission of the author. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred.

  DEVINMAR: GOD OF LITHA:

  SONS OF HERNE 5

  J. ROSE ALLISTER

  Primal urges stirred, a restless hunger that attacked without warning, pulsing deep in Devinmar’s body. Were he in human form, his cock would rise, stiff and waiting, staying more or less in that erect state until he had fulfilled his purpose.

  At the moment, however, he was not in human form.

  Powerful swishes of his fluke sent him deeper, down to the inky depths and back up again. His dolphin body flew through the ocean like a bird in the jet stream, graceful, carefree, mated only to the power of the sea through which he glided. No other force on this world or the next could arouse such pleasure in him, not even the calling his body responded to now, telling him in no uncertain terms that another year had passed. The time approached when he would return to land, for a single night, to mate with a human female.

  Within the slit that housed his dolphin genitals, he felt the tingling, the heat that would trigger mating aggression, should the demigod allow it. He had more control over his animal form than he did his humanoid one, at least when it came time for the sabbat ritual of midsummer. Then, he would be compelled to do the one duty expected of him by the realm he rarely visited. But as he was half selkie, he pushed those thoughts aside. He preferred the sea.

  A whirring sound distracted him from his thoughts, and he rolled his body before changing course toward it. The drone grew louder, a chorus of humming bleats from a motor that could use some serious maintenance. Devinmar drew alongside, pulling into the wake from the sides of the craft churning below the surface. He stayed hidden, keeping his dorsal fin underwater, amusing himself for a few moments by matching course. At least, that was the plan.

  A weight slammed into the surface of the water, square onto Devinmar’s back. He spun out of the boat’s path with the dolphin equivalent of a surprised cry, and the large bulk that had collided with him fell away into the darkness. Stunned as he was, Devinmar floated for a short time, getting his bearings.

  What the devil was that? He poked his head above water, blowing out his air hole and watching the white boat disappear in a tumult of churning sea foam. They had lost something important, judging by the size, but the boat gave no indication of turning back. The item perhaps had no value.

  Or maybe they had dumped it on purpose.

  Curious and a bit outraged at the thought, he dove back underwater, shooting straight down after the abandoned item. His dolphin eyes were not acute enough to see that far, but sounding ahead with sonar turned up a startling fact, one that sped his heart. He tried sonar again, confirming his theory.

  The bundle was human.

  Devinmar dove faster, his powerful muscles straining to catch up with the sinking human. It was a female, unconscious, and bound with some sort of wide, flat rope. No. Tape. He tried twice to get hold of her with his broad mouth, both cursing his current form and feeling grateful for it. God or not, he would never get her to the surface as a man, but hands would have been helpful. He caught hold of her with a firm grip and rose, pulling her against the forces of nature, higher until he could see the light rippling at the ocean surface. They broke through, him with a fierce blast from his blow hole. The woman made no gasping sounds. He had little time, if in fact it wasn’t too late already. Alternating between using his snout and teeth to keep her head above the whitecaps as much as possible, he pressed for the shore. His jaw ached from dragging her to the surface over and over, but he hurried on, intent on saving her.

  Waves soon pointed the way to land, and he followed until the first of the breakers pushed their bodies to shore. He gripped her in his teeth and rode the wave. The ocean floor beneath them rose up sharply, threatening to beach the dolphin if he had no other means to save himself. But he did.

  He didn’t let go of the female until sand scratched his underside, and he closed his eyes, released her to the momentary trust of the tide, and concentrated on the change. He had to become the seal first, the form his mother’s kind preferred close to the shore, a creature adapted to both sea and land. Shiny, gray skin shifted to brown fur, fins to large flippers. His snout shortened and sprouted whiskers while his body grew slower, yet more buoyant.

  Insistent waves pushed him to shore, and the female washed up beside him. The sudden cessation of the ocean’s constant movement brought him awake, as though jarred from a dream back to reality. She lay limp beside him, so fragile and helpless that it sent pangs of frustration through him.

  Now he focused on his true self, the man whose form he took but once a year, a human figure born under the sea with arms and legs and long, black hair. His seal skin split with a pop along his back, which was not a painful experience, but rather, a freeing one that ran oddly counter to his personal opinion. He was released from the marine creature, climbing free from the skin he clutched in his human hand. He must keep the skin with him in order to return to the sea.

  He tossed the skin higher up the beach, away from the waves that might try to reclaim it. Then he dragged the bound woman higher up the beach.

  He tried to get on his feet, but wobbly sea legs buckled beneath him. He crawled along as he got her out of the waves, then pushed wet hair from her pale face and put his cheek down to her mouth. She wasn’t breathing.

  Devinmar’s throat tightened. He slapped her face, not really expecting a response, then covered her mouth with his. He breathed, willing life back into her. Nothing.

  The tape around her chest might be constricting her, so he tugged and ripped at it until it tore free. He put the heel of his hand on her sternum and pushed, hoping to expel water, then breathed into her again.

  “Come on,” he said, water dripping from his hair onto her face. “You must live.”

  The fourth round of compressing her chest sent a gurgling sound up her throat, and water spurted out in a fit of coughing. She heaved, and he helped her roll to her side to spew up the remaining sea water.

  She collapsed onto her back, sucking in deep, ragged breaths, still coughing on occasion. Devinmar was on all fours over her, his brows tight. Her eyes were the brilliant blue of a morning sky, with delicate feature
s and a lithe figure that was well-curved where it mattered. He of course hadn’t paid much attention to her round, full breasts while he’d had his hands on them to save her life. Now, it was difficult not to be aware that he’d spared a most attractive female.

  “Who are you?” she rasped. “What happened?”

  “You do not remember going into the water?”

  “No.” She apparently felt the bonds on her then, and she gasped. “Let me go!”

  She wriggled her body in a panic against the tape still wound around her wrists and ankles.

  “It’s all right,” he said, grabbing her arms to help tear at the bonds. “I’ll set you free. You’re safe now.”

  “Oh. Good.” She relaxed then, staring up at him with those incredible eyes. They glassed over, and she lost consciousness again.

  “Woman,” he said. “Wake up.”

  Another slap on her cheeks failed to rouse her, but dropping his face to hers gave him a sigh of relief. She still breathed.

  He sat back on his heels and looked around. They were alone, and his gaze traced the outcroppings of rock and the curve of the land. He knew this beach well. He had been there before to engage a human female in sex as part of the Litha sabbat. Midsummer was still one day away. He was on land ahead of schedule—and with a female beneath him, no less. His cock lengthened and throbbed, aware of the nearness of the sabbat, reminding him of his duty. But this female was not his consort. He would see to her safety, slip back into the sea, and return when the time was right to join with whomever was drawn to this spot.

  Overlapping crevices of rock formed a cave down the beach, deep enough to offer shelter. Devinmar straightened himself as best he could, fighting off the swell of land sickness that crested his stomach as it did whenever he attempted landfall outside of the sabbat. He picked up the female, putting her over his shoulder, and grabbed his seal skin before shuffling erratically through the warm sand. It took some time to make it to the cave, where he lay her down with a gentle touch. He noted the pebbled texture of goose bumps erupting on her silken flesh and covered her with his seal skin before heading out in search of driftwood. This took a good deal of effort in his current state, but he managed to scavenge several dry pieces before returning and circling them with stones near the entrance. Calling on his selkie magic, he clapped his hands together, rubbed them until friction heated his palms, and pushed the energy at the wood. It ignited with flame, lighting the cave with a golden glow.

  The female would be safe here, and the fire would warm her. He was free to leave. He uncovered her and stood, his seal skin in hand, ready to be on his way. His eyes traveled over the sleeping woman, the rise and fall of her chest, the dip of her waist, the flat of her navel peeking out from between a soft, green shirt and sand-encrusted, tight blue pants. How much time had passed since he had last worn clothing, human or otherwise? Not counting the robes he donned once a year in the Chamber of Sabbats, but those were worn only long enough to take up the sacred artifact and speak the words declaring the ritual.

  Her breathing was even and calm, and he found his own settling into her rhythm. Warring factions tugged at him. The sea beckoned, the waves a siren call he knew he should heed. The sabbat also called, heating his blood, whispering that the time to mate was at hand. By tomorrow’s light, the call would be near unbearable, impossible to ignore, but even now, the urge to sink his hard dick into a willing pussy tightened his balls. Staring at the female’s perfection, the nipples hardened by the chill of the sea, strands of her hair drying into pale curls, didn’t help his discomfort one bit. Worse still was when he imagined her as the Litha maiden, clinging to him as he plunged into her depths, mingling dark and light energies until both he and the light of the longest day peaked in a moment of climax. Then would begin the inevitable descent into the darker months, when summer gave way to harvest and the final thinning of the veil at Samhain.

  Devinmar inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of fire and sea. A tingling began on his scalp, warning him that the powers of earth and the influence of his father, Herne the forest god, could take over if he wasn’t careful. He must return to the water soon. Yet he lingered, unable to move his clumsy legs, staring dumbfounded at the woman he had saved. If he left, she would awaken alone and afraid, lost in a cave with possibly no memory of how she had gotten there.

  The tingling on two distinct spots on his head increased, and he scratched at it. The woman shivered, still unconscious. He covered her again with the skin. Then he turned and headed out of the cave.

  ***

  Hallie had the weirdest dream. She was in space, with millions of stars around her, weightless but sinking fast. Some kind of space creature, an alien, came out of the dark and collided with her, sending her off course, then took hold and dragged her to parts unknown. What did it want with her? Would it save her or hurt her?

  Her eyes popped open, cloudy and burning, and she blinked to make sense of what little she could see. Darkness pressed close around her, but a shimmering orange glow climbed walls that rose over her in a curve rather than straight and tall. A roar nearby rose and fell, echoing through the space. Was she still in the dream?

  With a gasp, she forced herself upright. Every inch of her hurt, especially her head. She reached up, groaning, and felt the tender lump on the back of her skull.

  That brought her more fully awake.

  She remembered some alarming facts that had her shooting panicked glances around what appeared to be a cave. She was alone.

  But where?

  “Bastards,” she murmured.

  A heavy blanket of some sort covered her, and she pushed it off. It was some sort of animal hide. Freakin’ bizarre. Two tries finally got her upright, more or less, and Hallie crept near the crude fire at the cave entrance. The roar she’d heard was the ocean tide, rising and falling a short distance from where she stood. No one was in sight.

  She found a decent-sized piece of driftwood, enough to defend herself with, she hoped, if she ran across the men who had no doubt dumped her there. She gripped the club tightly, feeling only slight reassurance at the heft of it in her hand. She stepped out of the cave, hugging the rocks while she checked out the surroundings.

  The beach was deserted, the sand glittering with the last bits of failing daylight. Off in the distance, well beyond breaking waves, the sun was sinking below the ocean. She must have been asleep for hours, if it was even the same day from hell she was starting to recall.

  With a shiver, she pushed away from the cave, alert for any movement, any indication that her captors were nearby. More likely she’d been stranded on a deserted island and left to fend for herself. Panic gripped her throat. What the hell would she do on an island alone? She wasn’t Tom Hanks. She wouldn’t be able to fashion survival gear out of a plane wreck and turn a volleyball into her best friend.

  She stifled a choked sob. “Shit,” she said. “Shit.”

  What now? How long could she survive? Her mind raced with bits of info from movies and articles. Then she frowned. Something didn’t make sense. If she’d been ditched here, would they have taken time to find her shelter, cover her with animal skin, and build a fire? There was something elusive about her final moments on the boat, something she couldn’t quite grasp. Still, she had other problems. She needed to get a grip before night fell, deal with her food and water situation, that sort of thing.

  Feeling a little more assured, she set off from the cave, slogging along in wet, miserable sneakers and sand-filled clothes. One side of the beach jutted out more or less flat, and it was easy to see there was nothing that direction besides the ocean—not even a palm tree. The side closer to the cave was covered in craggy boulders, beyond which she couldn’t see. Praying for vast stores of food and water, or better yet, a coffee house with Wi-Fi and a cell phone she could borrow, she followed the shore line in that direction.

  She was approaching some tide pools when something moved in the distance. As dark as the round shape was, she first mistook it for a rock poking up out of the water. But this bobbed up and down in tune to the ocean swells. Then it ducked under. Hallie froze, club in hand, staring at the spot. Most likely, there was some marine life out there.