Shameless Fae (The Fae Bounties Book 1)

by Cilla Raven

  Lazlo wraps one strong hand around the rope holding my wings together and jerks me backward, surprising the fae out of me as his lips brush up against the skin of my neck while he whispers in my ear, “I’m going to untie your wings so you can hunt, but do not fly away from us when I do. If you try to escape, the Doconqueh are going to have a great ol’ time playing ‘catch and punish the Ghosty,’ do you understand?”

  I don’t even want to know what he means by that… well, my brain doesn’t. My body has an entirely different reaction, and it’s everything I can do not to squirm about because of it.

  “I won’t try to escape,” I say, my voice coming out a bit breathier than I’d like.

  Lazlo immediately cuts the rope from my wings, and as they spread out behind me, stretching and wiggling like they have a mind of their own, a moan escapes my mouth with the relief of the feeling.

  Walking around me with an unmistakable heat in his bright blue eyes, Lazlo spins my daggers in his hands before he thrusts them toward me, holding the tips of their blades so I can grab onto their hilts.

  The feel of my weapons in my hands when I finally have them back relieves so much anxiety, I nearly moan all over again, but I keep myself in check, and keep all sounds firmly on the inside.

  “Let’s see what you can do,” Lazlo says as he holds a hand out for me to walk toward the woods, and immediately, I lift myself up into the air and start flying through the trees at a slow speed while my wings get a warm-up and a stretch from being tied to my back for so long.

  I know Lazlo is following silently behind me, but I ignore him as I get far enough away from the sounds of the others that any prey around shouldn’t be scared off by them. I hover in the air for a second as I scent the air around me and decide which way the wind is blowing. Heading in the opposite direction, I smell the musk of something small like a rabbit or squirrel, and I make sure my wings don’t flap loud enough to scare it off as I move closer to it.

  The rabbit I smelled comes into view after I fly a short distance, sitting in the grass nibbling on some grass as I raise my dagger slowly and take a slow, silent deep breath. Just as I’m about to throw the dagger, a breeze drifts through, carrying the scent of larger game within it, and I turn my head in that direction immediately.

  The royal hunt may not have been my favorite Faedom Day event, but it was undoubtedly the one I was the most proficient at.

  Stalking through the trees on my wings silently, I fully crest the decent-sized hill I’ve been traveling along, and look into the small valley beside me where the ground drops down steeply about ten feet before it rises again.

  There, about thirty feet away from me, stands an elegant buck with an impressive set of antlers on his head. He’s facing away from me, and as I raise my dagger, I exhale as I send my ten-inch dagger whipping through the distance between us.

  It lands solidly precisely where I meant it to, right at the base of the skull, severing the spinal cord in one go, so it never had to suffer.

  Quickly, I make my way over to it, but Lazlo beats me there, flying past me with a fierce look in his eyes. As soon as he gets over to the carcass, he withdraws my dagger smoothly, wipes the blood on his pants, places his hand on the heart of the deer, and sends up the ancient prayer of reverential thanks I didn’t think he’d know or care enough to say.

  I join in with him, saying the words softly as I kneel down on the other side of the deer and place my hand next to his.

  When the prayer is finished, Lazlo cocks his head to the side again, squinting his eyes as he looks at me. “You know there are only five of us, and in this heat, anything not eaten will spoil. How do you expect us to eat all of this?”

  His question catches me off guard. The hunting I’ve done in the past has always carried the connotation that the larger the animal, the larger the meal, and since leftovers went to our servants, the size of the animal, or even the number of animals for that matter, has never been an issue. I’d never really considered waste before because there was no such thing at the castle, but as I look down at the large deer before me, I definitely consider it now.

  Lazlo laughs again, and I peer up at him as he says, “I’m just messing with you. Whatever we aren’t going to eat tonight or in the morning, we’ll smoke and dry out over the fire tonight, and we’ll give it to someone who needs it tomorrow.” I release a breath at that, but he continues, saying, “Now help me carry this guy back to camp. I can’t wait to see the look on Quinn’s face when he sees what our Ghosty dropped.”

  Pride surges through me at his words as I stand up and heft the front half of the deer over my right shoulder while Lazlo throws the back half over his left so we can both fly without our wings getting in the way of each other.

  As soon as we make it back into the clearing where they’ve already got a pot of water boiling over a nice sized fire, three sets of eyes look over at us, and their surprise at what they see us carrying is unmistakable.

  “Beh potah co nabet to dice co,” Roan says, causing Priya to stand up.

  They take the deer from us and carry it several yards from camp where they start to clean the animal, and I take a guess that Roan meant something like he would clean it.

  Lazlo taps me on my shoulder, drawing my attention away from Priya and Roan. “You’re dirty.”

  A huff escapes me as I look at him. “I’m sorry, I guess?” I say, and my words make another smile form on his lips behind the short scruff on his face.

  “We have some extra clothes that might fit you…” he takes a step away from me as he says this and lets his gaze travel down my length as if he’s sizing me up. “Yes, I’m sure they will. Come on.”

  I follow behind him and watch as he digs through one of the only crates left in the cart, and one by one, he starts throwing garments over his shoulder at me, not even looking to see if I’m catching them.

  I do, but he doesn’t even seem to care since he just keeps throwing things at me.

  “You want to just give me the whole crate? It might be easier,” I say with a small laugh since my arms are almost full of random women’s clothing at this point.

  Stopping his exploration of the crate, he turns around and plainly says, “No.”

  “Well, where am I supposed to put all of this?” I ask, lifting the pile I’m holding in my arms at him.

  He smiles again, turns around, and digs through one of their sacks. The next thing I know, he’s throwing an empty bag at me. “You can put them in there. Now, go down to the water and clean yourself up, I’ll be down to join you shortly.”

  “Excuse me?” I ask. “I’m not bathing while you watch me.”

  Lazlo steps over to me, leaning back and to the side weirdly as he says, “You don’t eat if you’re not clean,” and as he stands up to his full height right against me, he says, “and I still don’t trust that you’re not going to ghost me, little Ghost, so I will be there watching you the whole time, just in case.”

  Wetness pools between my legs at the idea of him watching me bathe in the river, no matter how much I wish it didn’t, but as I turn away from him and head toward the water, I begin to wonder why I’m beating myself up over being attracted to him, to all of them, in the first place.

  Today, they proved to me that we share the same values, and though I may not agree with everything they believe, exactly the way they believe it, I think we’re closely aligned enough that I don’t need to hate them anymore, at least. As far as I know right now, every ‘crime’ they’ve been accused of has been done with the greater good, the bigger picture in mind.

  Do I really need to keep seeing them as my enemies? Do I really want to catch them and send them to have their wings cut off? Send them into exile in Eruxus? I think I’d cry like a baby if Roan were to lose those beautiful, rare wings of his. So no, I don’t want all of that anymore, I think as I stop at the riverbank and stare down at the clear water flowing past me.

  So far, the worst thing they’ve done is kidnap me, but when I t
hink about that, I’m forced to ask myself if I really am their captive anymore. I’m not bound, and they’re treating me almost like an equal by letting me help them hand out food, by joking with me and speaking freely with me on the way here, and by giving me my weapons back, even if that last part did come with a small threat of violence.

  Well, there’s Lazlo’s supervision while I bathe to consider, but if I’m being honest with myself, the thought of that turns me on more than it makes me feel chained, so what should my goals with them really be at this point?

  Should I treat them like equals as well? See this thing through to whatever end it comes to? I mean, I’ve been wishing to escape my life in the castle since my mother died, and here I am, wish fulfilled, and I’m actually questioning it? Come on, Z.

  However, they think of me as The Ghost, and though that persona is a part of me, it’s not who I really am entirely, and something about them finding out the truth does scare me, though I don’t know why. I mean, Roan handled the knowledge well enough, I think. But he did make a solid effort to help me conceal my identity from the rest of the group… Does that mean he believes it wouldn’t go over so well if they found out?

  I’d probably be a fool not to think so.

  “Are you waiting on me, Ghosty?” Lazlo says with a laugh, and I turn to see him walking closer to me, butt ass naked, holding a clean set of clothes in front of his body to cover himself as he comes to stand beside me.

  It’s everything I can do not to check him out, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t paying close attention to my periphery right now. “No, I was just thinking,” I hear myself say without thought, wincing some at being so honest with him. However, he nods understandingly toward me, relieving some of my worry.

  We both stare at the water for a second, neither one of us moving to actually get in yet, and after a few silent beats, he asks, “Care to share what you’re thinking so hard about?”

  I don’t think about my answer for long before I say, “Not yet.” It’s not a yes, and it’s not a no. It’s more like a, ‘we’ll see how this goes, and if everything works out well, we’ll revisit the issue.’ Diplomatic as ever.

  Lazlo shrugs as he makes a hmm sound, lays his clothes on the rock near us, runs to the deep water, and jumps in, offering me an eyeful of both his gorgeous physique and every single inch of his perfect faehood.

  My mouth drops open a-fucking-gain, but this time I’m not sure whether it's from Lazlo’s antics or his body, but I couldn’t care less as the splash he makes sends droplets of cool water onto my skin, making me yearn for the coolness of the water strongly.

  His head breaks the surface of the water, his long braid sliding out to the side behind him in the current as he faces me, a wicked grin plastered on his face. “Dammit, I forgot my soap. Would you be a doll and bring it to me?” he asks, and I feel my cheeks redden at his words.

  I’m still holding all the clothes and the bag he gave me, and when I realize it, I chastise myself a little before I set all of the clothes down next to his on the rock.

  I’ve never been ashamed of my body, even if it may be a little thicker in certain places than is considered ideal, but that has never concerned me, and I’ve certainly never had any complaints. So, with only a heartbeat of hesitation, mainly because Lazlo just has this way of making me nervous, I take off my clothes slowly, folding each garment neatly before I lay them down. Then I peel my bandage off with a wince of pain, but see that the wound looks as good as it can under the circumstances, and I know cleaning it will help it along as well.

  I know exactly what I’m doing by taking my time getting undressed where Lazlo can see me, and the effect it could be having on him. I’m actually hoping for a reaction from him, seeing as he’s pulled so many from me already, and as I turn around, the look in his eyes doesn’t disappoint.

  Chapter 13

  I grab the bar of soap I’m sure he left on the bank on purpose, and as I glide gently over the water with my wings, Lazlo’s eyes stay focused on my body, shamelessly watching me with a gleam in his eyes that I find myself reveling in, hungrier for his gaze than I actually am for food at the moment.

  Once I’m hovering a few feet away, I toss the soap to him, but my aim is a little off on purpose, and he has to reach out far to his side to catch it. While he’s turned away, I let my wings sink me down into the water next to him, and when he turns back around, I can only see a small hint of disappointment in his expression.

  It only lasts for a second before his eyes wander to the water surrounding us, trying to get another peek at my body, and before I can think about it, I reach out and smack him on the shoulder. “Don’t you think you’ve seen enough already?” I ask.

  Laughing a dark and sinister laugh as his eyes blaze with heat, he says, “Not at fuck all,” and the words pull a giggle from me with how serious he sounded.

  “Now, is Ghosty going to let me wash her, just as she let me watch her?” he asks, holding the bar of soap above the water and wiggling it to exaggerate his question.

  “Not at fuck all,” I use his words like a smartass, and he laughs a full-on, genuine laugh that pulls a chuckle out of me to hear as well.

  “Fine, fine,” he says after his laughter settles into a sweet smile, and he tosses the bar of soap to me. “You can wash first then.”

  I catch the bar and immediately start scrubbing, nearly forgetting that Lazlo is there watching me as I do because every part of me feels like it’s been caked in sweat all day, not to mention the dirt I got on me while I slept on the ground last night, and I want nothing more in this moment than to finally feel clean again.

  Once my body is done, I hold my breath, dunking myself all the way into the water, then come up and lather up my hair and scalp before I throw the soap back at Lazlo. As soon as I feel like I’ve gotten completely clean, I turn my attention to him, but I get distracted when I see Priya and Roan running toward us, naked as well, their hands covered in blood.

  They make no attempts to hide their gorgeous bodies, and I selfishly drink in their exposed flesh as they jump in the water like Lazlo did, splashing me in the process, their wicked and playful smiles registering in my mind a second or two later.

  Coming up next to us, Priya says, “Quinn wants your help cooking the deer.”

  She’s talking to me, and I nod at her before I start swimming back to the edge of the river, surprised by the sad feeling I have resting in my belly at having to leave the rest of them behind.

  I pull myself out of the water, trying really hard not to get too much dirt on my freshly washed skin, and when I’m all the way out, I glance down at my body and see I’ve largely been successful in that endeavor.

  Heading over to the clothes Lazlo gave me, I catch a glimpse of Quinn sitting by the fire off to my left, and the look he gives me is enough to have me wet again for an entirely different reason.

  I try to ignore him though, and rummage through the clothes, pulling out a pair of loose black pants and a purple halter top as if I’m not acutely aware of multiple sets of eyes watching me. It’s invigorating, absolutely thrilling for reasons I can’t really define, and though a small part of me balks at the inappropriateness of the whole situation, the majority of me wants to bathe in their gazes wantonly, come what may.

  The clothes end up fitting perfectly, and when I’m all dressed, I stuff the rest of the clothes into the bag, zip it up, and carry it with me over to Quinn beside the fire, my hair and wings still dripping.

  The deer doesn’t even look like a deer anymore, and I ask myself which one of these fae is the expert butcher because the work and precision of the cuts laying out on the fallen-log-turned-makeshift-table are impressive, to say the least.

  “We’re cooking the backstraps, tenderloins, and organs for dinner tonight, and smoking the rest overnight. I’ve already got dinner started, but I need to bathe too, so I need you to watch this for me,” Quinn says, pointing at everything as he talks.

  “Sure, but I don’
t know what to do,” I say honestly, never having cooked a thing in my life. I mean, I’ve seen the cooks in the kitchen as they work, but I couldn’t tell you the difference between boiling something or frying something, other than the fact that they’re words I’ve heard the cooks say before.

  Quinn gives me a questioning look. “You don’t know how to cook deer meat? Isn’t that most of a guard’s diet?”

  Thinking quickly, I say, “Well, yeah, but we don’t actually cook it. The servants do.”

  Quinn’s response is immediate and surprising. He huffs and looks utterly disgusted by what I’ve just said, but honestly, I have no idea how I made him react that way.

  “Just keep an eye on it, and when you start to see those edges there turn brown, use this to flip them over.” He hands me this weird utensil thing that looks similar to scissors, demonstrating how they open and close when you squeeze the sides together, and I take it from him, giving it a few squeezes of my own before I look back up at him with a smile that quickly falls from my face as I look at his.

  “Don’t drop any of our food in the fire,” he says dismissively as he stalks past me in the direction of the water, and I make a face at his grumpy ass back as he goes, sticking my tongue out immaturely and giggling to myself because of it.

  Despite what he may think, I’m excited about this task, and I’m taking it very seriously, even going so far as to almost burn myself as I stare at the meat in the pan too closely. Watching to see if it had turned brown yet, I forgot about the fact that there was a fire licking flames up around the side of the pan, and one of them almost got me in the face.

  They don’t need to know about that though, I think as I breathe a sigh of relief since I still have hair in my eyebrows.

  A short time later, all of them return from the water, fully clothed and hungry, and as Quinn takes over, I smile triumphantly since I didn’t burn or drop anything, but it’s a smile he doesn’t return quickly.

  As we all settle around the fire after Quinn dishes out the food and sits down, he asks, “So, Mika, have you decided whether you’re going to join us or not?”