Chapter 32: 32__A creek for two

A sly smile snuck onto his face as Rogan prowled along the rocky bank, his sharp gaze fixated on the woman before him.

Maia was beyond herself with delight over the relaxing swim she’d been dying to take in her favourite creek. So lost in her little heavenly corner that she didn’t even see the villainous pair of eyes focused on her from just before the creek.

All Maia heard was the dull sound of something hitting the earth. She froze up in anxiousness for a moment before she remembered. That’s right. She was in the portal.

It was only her and Rogan here. Maia’s teeth clenched.

Rogan, that bastard. She’d told him not to follow her.

“Nice little spot you’ve got here,” came the gruff murmur from behind her. “Heavenly. Don’t mind if I taint it with my sinfulness. Do you?”

Turning around as quickly as she could, Maia dived behind a dark rock in the water and lowered her body behind it, raising her eyes to glare at him above the tip of the little rock island.

Another dull thud sounded and Maia’s eyes widened when she realised what was making that sound.

Rogan’s clothes hitting the ground.

“What are you doing?!” she hissed. “I told you not to follow me, this is my spot!”

“And you were going to selfishly keep it to yourself, weren’t you?” said Rogan with a disapproving tut. “Not nice.”

Maia watched the last clothing item drop from his fingers and slowly, Rogan began to trudge into the water.

Biting her lip, she hunkered down behind the rock as if he wouldn’t see her. Why was he so damn stubborn? She'd told him to stay away! Mostly because she wanted to stay angry about his nearly giving her to the Shifters and a situation like this one would melt every ounce of anger out of her.

Maia snarled. Damn Vampire Sorcerer using vile methods to appease her.

“Maiaaa, where aaare youuu?” sang Rogan as he got closer and closer to the rock she was hiding behind.

Maia bit her thumb nail in thought. If she really tried to resist him, would she succeed? Not if he whipped out his Vampire’s seduction, she wouldn’t. What if she kicked him in the shin and took off running? Maia shook her head. Trying that while in water would prove futile. He’d easily catch her leg and drag her towards him before she could even land a single blow.

Suddenly, a pair of bright green eyes popped up around one corner of her rock island.

“Boo!”

“Kyaaak!” Maia shrieked at the bright green orbs. Her heart trembling from the jolt it had gotten, she watched Rogan straighten and throw his head back with evil sounding laughter.

Maia sighed, a hand held against her chest. “What is wrong with you? When someone says, ‘Don’t come', you shouldn’t.”

Rogan's laughter disappeared as he raised a brow and leaned over the top of the rock, bringing his face close to hers. “You wanna control how I come?” A smirk curved his lips. “You kinky little thing.”

Maia blinked. “What? Kinky? What’s that?”

Rogan waved it away, slightly making his way around the rock. “Forget it. I’ll teach you all about it when the time's right.”

Maia’s fingers tightened against the rock as she looked up at his smirk. “If *you’re* wanting to teach me about it, it can’t be anything good.”

“Ah, come on, now. I’m hurt.”

Maia wasn’t blind. She’d seen how Rogan was slowly making his way to her side of the rock. He took another step and Maia narrowed her eyes. The crafty Sorcerer!

When Rogan took another step, Maia made a run for it. As fast and as powerfully as she could, she drove through the water around the other side of the rock and headed towards the rocky shore.

“Why is she doing unnecessary water sports?” Rogan muttered to himself, raising water in his hands and slicking his hair back.

Focused only on her mission, Maia swam until she could walk through the water. She quickly reached the rocky shore and rushed over the dark, wet rocks to reach her clothes. Yanking up her shirt, she held it over her chest so she could turn around.

She stuck her tongue out at him, making Rogan blink. “Take that! You crafty wizard, you.”

Spotting his pile of clothes, Maia got an idea. With an evil grin, she grabbed his clothes and stuck her tongue out at him again. “Try coming home without your clothes!”

Giggling deliriously at her successful accomplished mission, she turned around to skip away, only to halt in her steps, the smile freezing on her face.

Maia watched with wide eyes, having never seen anything like it before. The air before her swirled and churned, dark air creeping along the ground towards her.

So transfixed, she was unable to run, she could only curl her toes back, away from the approaching dark air. Like a blanket of black fog on the ground, it approached.

Out of the rising swivel of this air, walking tall, but with his head lowered and his eyes glowing green like a Gemini panther, came Rogan.

The efforts Maia had made to curl back her toes were dashed as the dark blanket of air reached them, even washing over her entire feet. It was cool to the touch. Soft, cool and yet with an intense sensation of power in it.

Swallowing, Maia found herself finally able to move and immediately glanced behind her at the water. What if this was just a Shifter?

The water was still, no sign of Rogan. Maia bit her lip, still looking at the creek behind her. Of course he was the real Rogan. Shifters couldn’t do this! And surely Shifters wouldn’t be self-confident enough to stroll about wearing not a stitch.

Whipping her head back around, Maia looked at him, guiltily clutching his clothes against her chest. There was something about him at this moment that was breaking her defences. It was making her want to succumb and roll onto the ground with him on top of her. Maia bit her lip, holding her breath.

Of course. His Vampire side was in full control right now, hence the moving from one end of the creek to the other in less than two seconds.

“F-fancy…” Maia muttered. "Nice tricks."

Rogan tilted his head, his mouth twitching. “Are you stupid enough to try and physically run away from a Vampire?”

Maia scowled. “I forgot you were a Vamp!” she spat angrily. “You jerk. You’re gonna pay for this!” turning around, Maia raised her arms and chucked the clothes as far into the creek as she could, watching in satisfaction as they disappeared under the hollow of a fallen tree trunk.

“Good,” she whispered.

Turning back to him, she shrugged and started walking off.

Rogan easily stepped into her path, mouth pressed into a firm line. Maia saw the Sorcerer’s dark swirl in the Vampire green of his eyes and gulped.

“Well, that was childish,” muttered Rogan, all amusement fleeing from his eyes.

Maia tensed. While living with him, it appeared she'd forgotten that she was staying with a man who could frighten away an army with just his eyes.

Her heart thudded in her chest and she put a hand over it, glancing warily at Rogan’s angry face.

He took a step forward, forcing Maia to take on back. She lowered her gaze away from his. “Y-you… you can probably get them back. Only if you run... because the current at the lower part of the stream… is fast…”

He lowered his head toward her as they moved back into the water, Maia still backing away from his approaching body.

“Why should I run to fetch something you threw?” Rogan demanded in a low murmur.

Maia felt her entire lower half get cover by water, leaving only her chest and upper body out. Feeling weird about it, she let an arm drape over her chest to cover what she could.

Focusing on covering her chest, she didn’t realize the direction he’d been forcing her back in until the edge of the rock dug into her back.

Gasping, Maia stopped, her widened eyes staring at Rogan’s bare chest.

She’d stopped walking but he hadn’t. He didn’t stop until they were barely inches apart.

She kept her gaze firmly on his chest, but Rogan let his bear directly into her face.

“Oh, what’s this now?” he mocked. “Got nothing to say? What’s become of that smart little mouth of yours? Hm?”

Maia bit her lip. Damn him, using such bad methods to get to her. She had to withstand it all even if it killed her.

Rogan glanced at the arm draped over her chest and forced her chin up so she looked in his eyes.

“Move your arm and let me see,” were his gruffly whispered words.

Maia didn’t know when or how, but her arm immediately lowered from her breasts, letting him get an eyeful of the large globes.

A second later, Maia blinked. A gasp drew air into her lungs and she stared at Rogan. She was supposed she withstand it! “Did you just… hypnotize me??!”

Rogan scoffed, raising his gaze from her chest to her face. “Oh, so now you want to blame everything on my hypnosis? I didn’t hypnotize you… You wanted to do that.” He slowly leaned into her, lowering his mouth to hers so he could speak while simultaneously touching her lips with his. “You wanted that,” he whispered. “I didn’t hypnotize you, but my Vampire half does sense the desires running through body. And, Maia, you want me to see these.”

Maia held her breath as his hand closed over one breast, kneading the sensitive peaks into a state of arousal that would barely let her move.

“You want me to touch you like this,” Rogan went on against her lips, caressing her body and at the same time driving Maia mad with the need to kiss him as he teased her with these feather light kisses.

Rogan’s mouth curved and a dark chuckle left his throat. “I know. Aren’t these barely-there kisses such torture? That’s a taste of your own medicine.”

Maia had barely a second to wonder if he’d read her thoughts before he hoisted her up, her legs wrapping around his waist and her hands resting on his shoulders as he lowered his mouth to her breasts and did what he’d been wanting to do from the moment he saw her in the creek.

His mouth was hot and seductive against her flesh as he sucked and bit on her, no doubt leaving behind as many marks as she'd left on his body. He rolled the tip if his tongue around her hardened peak before biting and then stroking his tongue over it for powerful suckling, soothing the sting of his bite. She had her head thrown back in sheer pleasure, the long, black curls of her head swaying down to brush the tip of the rock behind her.

He kissed up her chest, gripping her closer to stroke where his hands were too occupied to reach and Maia held her breath, hoping he’d just do it.

It was just them in the portal and she didn’t give a damn about resisting him any longer. Who could resist someone as powerful as the Vampire Sorcerer? Definitely not her. At least not while she needed him this badly.

“Do it…” she whispered when he only teased his tip against her, running back and forth.

Rogan’s mouth curved. “Beg me.”

Maia bared her teeth, groaning from the teasing pleasure he was eliciting within her. “J-just… do it…”

With her arms wrapped around his neck, she rocked against him, attempting to give herself what she needed but he evaded her, only further teasing her to a nearly painful arousal.

“Rogan, stop that…” Maia whimpered, lowering her face into his neck.

“Beg me,” he whispered again, stroking against her so that Maia thought she’d run mad from it.

Biting her lip, Maia fought against her body’s plea for her mouth to say the words. She wouldn’t beg him. He needed her too, and badly if how hard he was was anything to go by. They’d have to see who outlasted the other.

“I’ve done this plenty of times,” Rogan said with a smile. “Trust me, you’ll cave first.”

Maia bit her lip, gripping him tighter. Plenty of times? With who? Zainab?

She didn’t have time to think about it because in that next moment, there was suddenly more than just the two of them in the portal.

“Rogan?!” came the distant scream.

Rogan and Maia both froze.

“Rogaaan??!”

Moving back, they stared at each other and in a frustrated huff, both muttered, “Aiden.”