Marrow Charm is an alternate history dark fantasy adventure. Azure (Azzy) and Kai are bound together through circumstance. Each has saved the other multiple times throughout the course of the story, forming a deep bond. Here Azzy saves Kai from drowning after their daring escape from a horde of monsters via diving into the sea. Through the power within her, she pulls him back from the brink of death, and their bond transforms into something more...

She opened her colorless eye, peering through the filtered world at Kai's inert form. No, forms, two forms, man and wolf existing in the same space, not one or the other, but one in the same. At his center, his heart struggled to maintain a feeble beat, wrapped in the same shimmering essence as the witch's path. Magic, she realized, magic was keeping him alive, but not for long. It needed a spark, something to draw from. Her gaze fell on the corded braid round his neck. It glowed the moment her eyes lit upon it. A physical bond between them, forged by intent or accident. She could draw from it. She wrapped her fingers around it as she leaned in, breathing in his mouth once more. The whispers breathed with her.

She could feel the answering crackle in her veins, the air burned as it left her mouth, pouring into him.

Kai coughed, choking up water. She gave a cry, helping him turn on his side as he expelled the water from his lungs. His skin warmed beneath her touch, his ashen pallor fading as she watched. She collapsed beside him on the sand, staring up at the overcast sky, awash with relief despite the violent shiver in her limbs. Kai rolled, shifting over her, filling the field of her vision. His arms were braced on either side of her. Heat radiated from him. His eyes searched her face, lit by an intent she didn't recognize until his head bent down, his mouth taking hers.

His lips scalded her. She froze, reeling and uncertain until an answering heat bloomed within her. Azzy threaded her arms around his neck, committing to an instinct old as time. She arched up against him, feeling the ebb and flow of warmth through their sodden clothing.

She could feel the ridges of every corded muscle, down to the hard length between his legs. It pressed against her belly as she clung to him, even hotter than rest of him, warming her from her core. His hands roamed over her body, exploring her curves. She jolted as he slipped his hands beneath her sodden clothes, calloused palms tracing the smooth lines of her torso until the found the soft underside of her breasts.

Her mind shrank back from the boldness of his touch even as her body craved it. She went still, trying to work through the tangle of thought and desire.

He distracted her, lapping at her bottom lip until her gasp of surprise allowed him entrance. Her confusion vanished at his invasion, yeilding to the sensations he provoked. He tasted her, sucking on her tongue, before he pulled back just enough to nip her bottom lip.

Azzy breathed in the smoky taste of his mouth as his thumbs rasped over her nipples. She would have arched harder against him if he hadn't pinned her down, his dark head lowering as his clever fingers found the ties and hooks of her shirt, baring her breasts to the open air.

Her chest tightened, she couldn't catch her breath. What was happening between them? She had entrapped him, bound him in this form, but there was no anger in his golden eyes. Only need and something else that scared her with its intensity.

Her nipples were pebbled by the cold. She shivered, gasping as his mouth seized her, his tongue a lash of fire that had her fingers weaving into his damp curls.

His hips pressed down, gently, a silent question as he continued his attentions to her breast. She wrapped her legs up around his hips, cradling him as he ground against her. The sweet pressure made her hiss, tightening her grip on his hair from the novel sensation.

She'd never felt sensations like this before, taken so few pleasures in the shadowy darkness of the Heap where boys feared her. Now Kai's fiery mouth sent her thoughts scattering as it released her nipple with a soft wet pop. He shifted over her trailing open mouth kisses further down, pausing to trace her belly button with his tongue. She released the death grip she had on his hair, shaking as he nuzzled the descending vee of skin above her pants. He glanced up, his golden eyes searing her with heated intent. Azzy nodded, biting her lip, unable to give voice or name to the act he was about to perform on her. She knew so little of these pleasures, nothing more than rumors and hints passed between the others her age.

Kai eased her trembling, continuing to nuzzle her belly as he slid her pants off, exposing the small tuft of hair between her legs. The cool air kissed her sex, making her jump. He pulled back to look at her, his golden eyes hooded, seeming to glow with his desire. He shifted her legs over his shoulders, leaning close to breathe in her scent.

Her muscles tightened at the heat of his breath a second before his tongue ran flat along the seam between her legs. Azzy squirmed, sensations rising, chasing the chill from her skin. She was still unprepared when his hands clamped down on her waist and he drove his tongue between her folds.

She bucked against his hold, keening as his tongue probed deep, rolling within her, pressing and pulling on a small nub of flesh at the peak of her slit.

His tongue continued its sweet torment of her flesh, licking and teasing the tender flesh between her legs until her head thrashed, her mouth forming unspoken words and pleas. Her fingers dug into the cold sand, the grains lightly scratching against her palms. The trembling kicked up, a building sensation that crept up from the base of her spine. She balanced on the edge of sensation, seeking the tipping point. Her thighs squeezed his shoulders. She strained against at his hold. He seemed to sense her wordless need, his fingers gliding down along the intimate curve of her leg to slide between the slick folds of her sex, plunging deep until they rubbed the ridged flesh within her.

Azzy released a cry, her toes curling in the surf as her muscles seized, awash in waves of pleasure that sang through her body. The whispers of her mind were humming in time to the rapid tempo of her heart. She could feel her pull everywhere, a primal rhythm throbbing just beneath the skin. She wanted more, her sex wept and clenched around his fingers. Not enough. The very essence of her being cried out for him, to entwine their energies and flesh together. One, the same, together.

Azzy tugged him up, and when he didn't rise over her fast enough, she slid herself beneath him, clawing at the ties of his shirt to bare his chest, all hard muscles and a dusting of dark hair. She brushed her fingers along his scars, pressing kisses to them as she shifted beneath him. He stilled at her moments, a tremor running through his locked muscles as he groaned from her touch.

Her legs rose, finding the loose hem of his pants as she shoved the wet fabric off him. Her eyes feasted on his nakedness before she realized he was still frozen over her, arms locked on either side of her as his golden eyes blazed down at her.

Honey and fire. She stared up at them, lost in them. He stayed hovering above her until her fingers closed over him. He hissed, a low rumble emerging from his chest that made her veins sing with anticipation.

"Azzy," he whispered, his voice full of want and warning. She could see it now, the wildness raging in him, the animal barely leashed by the man. Except Azzy had seen the truth of him, both one in the same, two entities that existed as one. Her other hand reached up, cupping the back of neck to bring him closer. She pressed her lips to his, guiding him between her legs to her entrance. She could feel him shaking now, the strain of his muscles as he held back. She needed to show she accepted all of him, ending their kiss with a hard nip at his lip.

He groaned against her mouth as his hips thrust forward, his length breaching the entrance of her sex. She flinched at the pain of it, causing him to stop. He pulled back look at her, his eyes wide and bewildered with surprise. Understanding shone in his eyes as he dropped his face to her neck, breathing hard against her damp skin.

"You should have told me," he said, starting to ease himself from her. Azzy wrapped her legs around him, digging her nails into his shoulders.

"Don't stop," she said, her words a rasp, all her longing and desire poured into the words. Still he hesitated. She pushed him further, biting his earlobe. Kai jerked.

His teeth sank into the curve between shoulder and neck as his hips shot forward. Azzy yelped as he plunged fully into her sex. He paused against, tenderly licking his bite as he waited for her inner muscles to adjust to his invasion. He reached between them, stroking her flesh until she could feel her muscles relax, accepting him. Her legs tightened urging him on. He pulled back to deliver another hard thrust, his length gliding through her folds with delicious friction. She pressed up against him, skin to skin, her nipples rubbing over the sweat slicked flesh of his chest.

She lost herself to the rhythm he set, her muscles winding as her body responded to his movements. He ground himself against the sensitive secret between her legs until she shattered beneath him, opening her mouth to scream which he swallowed with his lips. She felt it when he came apart with in her, how his muscles seized and shuddered within her, surrounding her, flooding her with heat that sank into her bones. Bonded. They breathed each other, their hearts thundering as one for one glorious blinding moment of clarity.

He broke away with a gasp, resting his forehead against hers, one arm wrapped beneath her, holding her up. His breath fanned her face.

"We need to get out of the water," he said, his voice hoarse and spare. He began to put their clothes to rights, covering her again in her soaked clothing.

"I don't know if I can move," she admitted, though Kai was already lifting her. He carried her away from the hungering surf, seeking the shelter of the woods. Between his strong, even strides, and the warmth of his chest, Azzy found herself lulled to sleep.

*** Thank you for reading this alternate excerpt of what could have happened between Azzy and Kai. If you want more of these characters, don't hesitate to head over the award winning author's profile (krazydiamond)and pick up Marrow Charm!